Many British tennis fans may have thought they would not see Norrie playing at this level again.
A forearm injury last year contributed to his ranking plummeting towards the bottom of the top 100 but, after soul-searching talks with his team after the Miami Open in March, he has rediscovered his form.
Since then, Norrie has reached the French Open fourth round before forging another deep run at Wimbledon – having followed Alcaraz’s lead of a short Ibiza break between the Grand Slam events.
“I’m enjoying my life on the tour, enjoying off the court as much as I can,” he added.
“I think just having a good perspective of just not putting too much pressure on yourself.”
Heading to party island is a strategy which has also served Alcaraz well.
He plays at his fluent best when completely relaxed and barely thinking about the shots he is producing – although he can be prone to occasionally losing concentration.
Alcaraz found the perfect balance against Norrie.
His deft touches at the net brought gasps of appreciation, and the explosive power and pinpoint accuracy of his baseline strokes were met by exhales of breath.
Norrie, simply, had no answer. Alcaraz lost just nine more points after seeing off the four break points and clinched the opening set after only 28 minutes.
Even when the Briton earned a break-back point at 3-2 in the second set, there was no mercy.
Alcaraz upped his serve and battered down three deliveries over 130mph to hold, breaking again to clinch the set and refusing to let his level drop in the third.
“When you’re serving great, you’re playing from the baseline and playing the return games with more confidence,” he said.
“You’re just playing more calm and thinking things clearly.”
