Cameron Norrie did what he could. Rather than easing into a long best-of-five-sets match, he played at full throttle from the beginning by launching into forehands and forcing himself inside the baseline at all cost. He worked through every shot in his arsenal, frequently sweeping forward to the net. He punctuated each small victory with booming cries of “allez”.
In tennis, however, match-ups are king and the past meetings between Norrie and Alexander Zverev have already illustrated how the German’s game is built to outlast and overpower the Briton. This seventh meeting between them ended no differently as Zverev, the third seed, secured a tough 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory over the 26th seed to advance to the fourth round of the Australian Open.
Despite the defeat, Norrie departs Australia with another solid grand slam showing. He has enjoyed some of his best form at the elite tournaments over the past year, winning every match he has entered the court as favourite. He has been defeated by top players in each of the four majors, with Carlos Alcaraz defeating him at Wimbledon, Novak Djokovic doing so at the French Open and US Open, and now Zverev following on in Melbourne. For all the grit, discipline and spirit he showcases every time he steps on the court, Norrie has simply lacked the weapons to consistently trouble the top players over the best-of-five-set matches.
Victoria Mboko has given herself a shot at Aryna Sabalenka, the world No 1, in the fourth round of the Australian Open, after the 19-year-old prodigy held her nerve at the end of an incredibly tense tussle to close out a 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-3 win over the 14th seed, Clara Tauson.
Mboko, seeded 17th in Melbourne, showed her mental toughness at the end of a quality match between two young players by playing an authoritative final set after squandering match points. The Canadian had served for the match at 7-6 (5), 5-3 before losing her service game to love. She then generated three match points at 5-4, but while Mboko was extremely tight, her Danish opponent struck the ball with total freedom to retrieve the break.
“I think it was just self-belief at the end,” Mboko said. “I had so many chances in the second set but I’ve got to give credit where it’s due, she was playing incredible tennis so I just had to lock in, in the important moments. This is my first time here so I’m really happy to go through to the fourth round.”
The victory secures her first appearance in the fourth round of a slam, her previous best being a run to the French Open third round last year from qualifying. The Canadian’s reward is a meeting with the two-time champion Sabalenka, who dragged herself into the fourth round in two tie-break sets, defeating Anastasia Potapova of Austria 7-6 (4), 7-6 (7).
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