London — Cameron Norrie pleaded for fans to ramp up support as he became the last British player left standing at Wimbledon following his straight-sets win against Tommy Paul on Sunday.
Norrie beat the American 30th seed 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 to advance to the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career.
The ninth seed said it was "shocking" to find himself in the last eight of a major for the first time.
"I'm the last one (British player) left so why not get behind me even more now?" he said, after Heather Watson lost in the women's fourth round earlier in the day.
"I think from the first round everyone has been behind me and supporting me and it's showed in tough moments in the matches — especially serving for the match there.
"There were a lot of things going round my head but I managed to stay calm and do it. It was great you guys helped me through it."
Norrie was quickly into his stride on Court One, breaking the American at his first opportunity and saving four break points in a marathon sixth game.
He served out to love to take the first set and again broke early in the second only to falter when serving for a two-set lead.
But the South Africa-born left-hander broke again immediately and this time made no mistake on his serve.
A single break in the third game of the third set proved decisive as the 26-year-old sealed a place in the last eight against Belgium's David Goffin.
Norrie said experience had taught him to be patient, citing how he was "chopped up" by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at Wimbledon in 2017.
"I've improved a lot and matured on the court and kept progressing with my team and stayed patient with myself and embraced the grass surface," he said.
"It's probably not my favourite surface but this gives me a lot of confidence. I've definitely improved mentally over the years and I'm way more mature as a player and I think it shows."
AFP