Cameron Norrie lungs: Wimbledon star has rare health condition that left doctors shocked

When Cameron Norrie attempts to cause a huge upset against Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday, he will draw on his abnormal fitness levels. The world No. 61 is the last Brit standing in the singles draws at Wimbledon this year but he faces a tough test in the quarter-finals, taking on the two-time defending champion.

It's not all doom and gloom as Norrie has beaten the Spanish world No. 2 twice. And he also has a significant physical advantage - giant lungs.

The Brit has been open about his incredible lung capacity throughout his career, after learning of the abnormality when he went to hospital during his time at Texas Christian University in America.

"The guy said to me 'Are you a deep-sea diver?' because of the size of my lungs. But I had no idea because I thought it was just normal," the 29-year-old previously told the ATP.

Since then, Norrie has used it to his advantage, trying to physically outlast his opponents on the tennis court.

He added: "When he told me that it gave me more confidence in my running ability and engine. It is crucial to my game. I like to try and play long matches and make it as physical as I can and the longer the rally goes the better."

His long-time coach, Facundo Lagones, once told the Daily Mail that Norrie could spend up to seven minutes playing tennis with a heart rate of 200 beats per minute.

"There are some really intense conditioning sessions on court where he stays in that red zone where the heartbeat is just insane. He's still able to execute and play tennis at a decent level when he is in that state," Lagones - who also attended TCU - explained.

"He can stay on that for six, seven minutes, no problem. A normal person can't even do a minute and a half on that. They could probably, I don't know, die. Would be close to passing out."

Norrie will need to make it a physical battle if he wants to outlast Alcaraz. The Spaniard has lost just two matches at the All England Club in his career, with his last defeat coming to Jannik Sinner in the fourth round in 2022.

Alcaraz is also on a 22-match winning streak, picking up titles at the Italian Open, French Open and Queen's before starting his Wimbledon defence.

But the Brit has done it before. When they last met in the 2023 Rio final, Alcaraz seemed to be cruising to the title before getting injured, and Norrie won in three sets.

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