Cameron Norrie recovers from a lost set to beat Frenchman Lucas Pouille and become the fifth British player to reach Wimbledon’s second round
- Cameron Norrie recovered from a lost set on Tuesday to defeat Lucas Pouille
- He became the fifth British player go through to the second round at Wimbledon
- Pouille had edged a tie-break before play was suspended due to rain on Tuesday
- Norrie took the upper hand on Wednesday and secured a 6-7(6) 7-5 6-2 7-5 win
From Acapulco to Estoril to Wimbledon, Cam Norrie just keeps on running and keeps on winning.
On Wednesday he became the third player on the tour to reach 30 victories this season and one more could punch his card for a Centre Court date with Roger Federer.
The No 29 seed, a long-distance runner at school, scampered another 6.2 kilometres as he beat former Wimbledon quarter-finalist Lucas Pouille 6-7, 7-5, 6-2, 7-5.
Cameron Norrie (above) recovered from a lost set on Tuesday night to defeat Lucas Pouille
Norrie (left) became the fifth British player go through to the second round at Wimbledon
He plays Australian Alex Bolt in the second round and, while that will be tough against a player who earned his wildcard by winning the Nottingham Challenger event on grass, the victor will play the winner of Federer’s match with Richard Gasquet.
But back to his first round win, and a match that began on Tuesday night with a grim and gloomy set, Norrie serving two double faults to go from 6-4 to 6-8 in the tiebreak as darkness closed in.
The 25-year-old came back on Wednesday looking more like the composed player who made the final of the cinch Championships at Queen’s last month.
‘Yesterday I wasn’t that calm. I completely donated the set, threw in a couple of double faults,’ said Norrie, who was born in South Africa to a Scottish father and a welsh mother. ‘Today I made a conscious decision to be more calm on the court, really enjoy it out there.
Pouille (above) had edged a tie-break before play was suspended due to rain on Tuesday night
‘I think it comes with winning a lot of tight matches. With the way I play, I’m not going to go out and hit someone off the court. I need to keep continuously applying pressure, putting people in awkward situations.
‘I those tough moments, that’s when I feel good and I feel comfortable.’
Pouille is a former world No 10 who once beat Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open. His career hit the skids when he suffered an elbow injury in 2019, but he is finally pain free after surgery.
His stylish game emerged in patches and made this an eye-catching contest for the spectators on Court 2. But the 27-year-old lacks what Norrie has – matches in his legs and wins under his belt – and in the big moments that was the difference.
Norrie (above) took the upper hand on Wednesday and secured a 6-7 (6) 7-5 6-2 7-5 victory
Norrie added: ‘I think I’ve done well to keep momentum (this season). Today was a good example of winning a lot this year, having a lot of confidence, getting through a lot of tough matches. I think from Lucas’ point of view it was a little bit the opposite.’
Norrie seems to be learning almost match by match how to adapt his game to the grass. His idiosyncratic, flat-as-a-pancake backhand skids through nicely, especially when he hits down the line, and his leftie serve is more of a weapon on the surface.
Hours after Norrie had taken care of business, another British southpaw in Liam Broady was trying to win his way into the third round for the first time in his career against ninth seed Diego Schwartzman.
The Argentine made it through 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 but his quicksilver feet were given a thorough workout by the Stockport man.
Broady knows how to entertain and the fourth set in particular was terrific fun. The Court 12 crowd of ground-pass wielding hoi polloi were in rowdy form by Wimbledon’s standards – one patron swigging from a bottle of white wine in the stands.
The British player couldn’t keep the smile off his face as he matched Schwartzman drop shot for drop shot and lob for lob.
It wasn’t his day on Wednesday but Broady is playing the best tennis of his life at the age of 27 and looks capable of cracking the top 100 if he can keep it up.