Cameron Norrie has set up his first meeting with Jannik Sinner after Sunday’s fourth round match at the Madrid Open.
Norie has faced Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic many times, but strangely he has never played against world No. 1 Sinner.
Things will change at Caja Magica on Tuesday. The British number one will end Sinner’s winning streak at 19 games and aim to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in Madrid.
“I’ve never played with him, it’s crazy,” Norie told Sky Sports. “I’m looking forward to playing against him, but every time we practice he tears me apart and smokes me.
“He’s really confident, probably the most confident player in tennis right now. I’m going to leave it to him. I’m just going to play my game and play the ball in front of me.”
Norrie won a nearly three-hour battle with Tomas Machak in the second round, defeating the big-serving Argentine Thiago Agustín Tirante in straight sets to advance 7-5, 7-6 (5).
“It was difficult,” Norrie said after the match on Caja Magica’s third court.
“I hadn’t played on a stadium court yet, I hadn’t played in practice before, so it was a little different coming back and it was hard to distance myself.
“I had to go back because his serve was kicking too much. As we expected, his first serve was an absolute rocket. But I was able to dig deep when I needed to and make good plays in the important moments. That was the difference.”
It was a match with few chances, but Norrie converted his third break chance in the 12th game of the first set with a backhand winner and then squandered his first match point in a tense second set tie-break.
Tirante, ranked 75th, served 149 mph in the sixth game but was unable to create a break point on Nolley’s serve.
