The renaissance of Cam Norrie continued as the British No3 swept into the third round of the French Open.
Having escaped from a tight opening set against world No144 Federico Gomez, Norrie assumed full control to win 7-6, 6-2, 6-1.
The 29-year-old arrived in the second round via a monumental, four-hour upset of No11 seed Daniil Medvedev.
He was a massive underdog for that match, given he had not taken a single set off the Russian in four previous meetings, but the outlook was very different against Gomez.
The Argentine world No144 only snuck into the draw as a lucky loser after Emil Ruusuvori withdrew, so Norrie looked a decent favourite – not that he was having any of it.
‘Nothing changes,’ he said after the Medvedev win. ‘Different challenge, same level, same mindset.’
It certainly was a different challenge: instead of the rake-thin Medvedev came Gomez, a hulking specimen built more on the lines of a Pumas flanker than a tennis player.
Norrie required a tie-break to get past Federico Gomez in the first set at Roland Garros
But he subsequently hit his stride to win in straight sets and ease into the third round
If Norrie’s first-round win was a tale of perseverance rewarded, he had nothing on Gomez. The 28-year-old Argentine played college tennis in the US, then toiled around on the lower reaches of the tennis circuit for years without a breakthrough.
In March of this year he posted on Instagram, describing his thought of quitting the sport and even suicide.
Days after that post, Novak Djokovic reached out to Gomez, inviting him to practice with him in Miami.
They had another session together here in Paris; the Serb’s many ill-informed detractors would do well to realise that such acts of kindness towards his fellow professionals are characteristic.
Gomez’s first-round win here – on his Grand Slam debut – was a demonstration of the power of a kind gesture.
It was also a reminder of the vast sea of largely unknown talent to be found beneath tennis’s top level.
Gomez is a damn fine player, with huge power on the serve and forehand. His backhand was a little vulnerable, though, and he was liable to break down in the longer rallies.
An ideal opponent for Norrie, then, who could just stick to his metronomic, high-margin tennis and wait for his man to crack.
Norrie will face fellow Brit Jacob Fearnley or French No2 Ugo Humbert in the third round
Gomez hit far more winners – 39 to 22 – but made far more errors, too, 56 to 22.
Norrie needed seven set points to take the opener but his higher class told eventually.
From there he assumed full control of the match and is into the third round of the French Open for a fourth time in the last five years.
He was awaiting the winner of last night’s match between his countryman – and fellow Texas Christian University grad – Jacob Fearnley, and French No2 Ugo Humbert.
Twenty-four hours after Emma Raducanu was taught a lesson on Philippe Chatrier, Katie Boulter was given a similarly harsh demonstration of the gulf that exists between the best in the world and the best of Britain.
The British No1 sent down nine double faults in a meek 6-1, 6-3 defeat at the hands of Australian Open champion Madison Keys.
She was making her debut on the French Open’s main arena, as was Raducanu for her 6-1, 6-2 thrashing by Iga Swiatek on Wednesday.
On this surface at least, our two best female players lack the power – in Raducanu’s case – and the fleetness of foot – in Boulter’s – to compete with the very best players.
Katie Boulter endured a feeble exit at Roland Garros at the hands of Madison Keys
The Brit struggled for rhythm on her serve as she racked up nine double faults
Boulter and Keys were wearing identical maroon Nike dresses and there are many similarities in the gamestyles, too. Both play flat, hard and fast – the problem for Boulter is that Keys plays flatter, harder and faster.
At least this was not the kind of matchup in which her movement – the weak point of her game – would be overly exposed. Few were the rallies which stretched beyond five strokes.
‘It’s going to be more about who gets the first strike in,’ said Boulter before the match. ‘Who’s on the ball with every single point.’
Keys landed first strikes; Boulter landed double faults. Each of the first three breaks of her serve were conceded via double faults – safe to say the American No7 seed did not have to work overly hard for her passage to the third round.
‘I think almost every service game I hit a double-fault,’ said the 28-year-old. ‘Against someone with that calibre behind her, you just can’t afford to do that.
‘These players, when they gain a little bit of confidence, they start swinging free and they’re going to try to put you away as quickly as possible.’
Boulter’s defeat ended Britain’s representation in the women’s singles, after Sonay Kartal’s 6-1, 6-4 morning defeat to Marie Bouzkova.
On the bright side, the 23-year-old should have done enough to reach the top 50 when the rankings refresh after Roland Garros.
That would give Britain three women in the world’s top 50 for the first time since 1986: a healthy position going into the grass court season.
