Cameron Norrie may have to overcome more “unacceptable” umpiring decisions when he takes on another hometown favourite in the second round of the French Open.
Norrie beat Benoit Paire 7-5, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in three hours and 33 minutes on Monday to become the only Brit in the second round at Roland Garros as Jack Draper and Dan Evans were knocked out. The world No14 had tricky conditions on Court Suzanne-Lenglen where there was at times hostile support for Paire.
Norrie will face another Frenchman in Lucas Pouille on Wednesday, knowing that once again the majority of the spectators will be cheering for his opponent. “I think it's great to play those matches in Grand Slams against home favourites, and I think that's why I play tennis,” Norrie said.
“I love those moments. It was a really, really tough match. It was nice to get through it.” Getting through was made even tougher for the British No1 by what he saw as poor officiating from German umpire Nico Helwerth.
Norrie was penalised for hindrance after grunting too loudly during a rally at 1-1 when the score stood at 30-30 in the second set. He bemoaned the umpiring in his post-match press conference, noting the controversial decision to penalise Evans for a foot-fault during his defeat on Sunday.
"It was a big point,” Norrie said. “I don't know why he felt it was necessary to get involved there. He gave me no warning whatsoever.
"It ultimately changed the momentum of the match. It was strange. He must have thought that I said something, and I think for him to get involved there was absurd. Even with Evo yesterday, I watched that, and he was nowhere near foot faulting and the guy is calling him on the other side of the net.
“For them to get involved doesn't make any sense. I'm fighting my a*** off and one call of that could obviously influence the match. For sure. it's unacceptable. Obviously I got away with it today and I was able to come through in five sets.
“If he makes a decision wrong, there's no consequences. And, for me, if I do something wrong, there's consequences – I can lose the match.”
Norrie is happy to fly the British flag in Paris, but is frustrated that Draper and Evans exited in the first round, while Andy Murray withdrew to prioritise Wimbledon. “I think it's a bit unfortunate not to have Andy here competing,” said Norrie. “It's disappointing not to have more Brits through in the second round and still here competing.”
Norrie will be favourite in the next round against Pouille, who came through the qualifiers before beating Austria’s Jurij Rodionov in straight sets on Sunday.
