British tennis number one supporting Scotland at World Cup due to Rangers-mad dad

The Newcastle supporter was born in South Africa to a Scottish Rangers-mad dad and a Welsh mum, grew up in New Zealand before moving to London, and drew France and Croatia in his World Cup sweepstakes.

He did not stay up to watch Scotland triumph in their first World Cup appearance for 28 years – Norrie gets his Queen’s campaign underway this week – but admits he might be snatching a bit more football-inspired sleep this grass-court season.

“I could pick a few different countries, I’m watching and following everything, but I want Scotland to do the best with my dad,” said Norrie.

“They had a lucky goal last night, we’ll take it, and it’s a bit weird with the timings, and so far they’re pretty late, but I think everyone is following and it’s a nice feeling to be watching and following in the UK, especially.

“I might need to take some naps or something in the afternoon, the timing is pretty tough actually, but I woke up and saw on Instagram and saw like seven different deflections and the goal – we’ll take it – and we’ll work out the plan.”

Norrie is no stranger to following sports in other time zones. Between trying to keep up with his fantasy NFL team in Australia or swapping out his squad for the Premier League version from China, there have been times, he said, when: “You’re just like, ‘Nah, I’ve got to go to sleep now’.”

The 30-year-old, who switched allegiance from New Zealand to Great Britain as a teenager, has a tough draw in the first round at Queen’s against fourth seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

Norrie leads the British interest at the HSBC Championships, the same tournament he came close to winning five years ago, when he was the runner-up.

Jack Draper, who last month hired Andy Murray to coach him through the grass-court season, ruled himself out on Tuesday as he continues to recover with a knee problem.

Australian Alex de Minaur – whose fiancee, British number three Katie Boulter, reached the semi-final in the women’s tournament – is the top seed, and takes on Canada’s Gabriel Diallo in his opener.

Norrie’s French Open was cut short by a rib injury, and his opening-round absence there was the first time he was ever forced to pull out of a Tour-level match.

He took some time off and attended a wedding in Barcelona, adding: “It was cool to take my mind off tennis completely.

“The rib feels better. It was bothering me a little bit at the beginning when I was practicing, but nothing major.

“I’m feeling good now, lots of learnings from everything. It was a nice mental reset, and for me I always like being back in the UK, so I’m feeling pretty relaxed and hitting the ball well immediately, which is good.”