It took just a few fleeting points of the first-round match between Cameron Norrie and Benoît Paire for it to become clear that the French player was in one of his moods. He shanked forehands into the back fence, then he dumped backhands into the bottom of the net. He had only just arrived, yet he looked determined to get off the court as quickly as possible.
There were other times, though, when Paire played fairly well. In the midst of the chaos on the other side of the net, Norrie handled himself as he always does. Remaining steady, solid and composed, he moved on to the second round with a good first performance, defeating Paire 6-0, 7-6 (1), 6-0.
Dan Evans also reached the second round with a comfortable straight-sets win, defeating Jiri Vesely 6-4, 6-1, 6-1. Five British players have now reached the second round in New York, the joint highest number since 1981.
By the end of a pitiful 18-minute first set Paire had hit one winner, 16 unforced errors and not managed to win a single return point. But slowly he began to get into the match. His serving improved, allowing him to pull together a number of holds and he served for the second set at 5-3. As Paire froze, losing his serve then hitting three double faults in a row to end the tie-break, Norrie remained consistent and focused, prolonging the exchanges and giving away nothing in the heat.
And that was all. As he stared down a two-set deficit, Paire’s effort returned to the dire level of the opening set. He spent the changeover at 5-0 packing his bags. After giving minimal effort in the final game, including a failed underarm serve, Paire pulled Norrie in for a warm hug, then picked up his packed bag and walked off court.
Norrie said: “I was trying to play and trying to win every point, and trying to get through. That’s my ultimate goal and I was not thinking: ‘Oh, he’s having a tough day today.’ No, I was trying to win every point I could, and trying to get off the court as quickly as I could. I wasn’t thinking about him or how he’s doing or anything. I’m trying to just focus on myself.”
The 27-year-old had some of the best weeks of his career during his Wimbledon semi-final run but the manner in which he has continued to push on after every milestone, never allowing himself to get too carried away by his success, is even more impressive. Norrie, the No 7 seed, will play João Sousa of Portugal in the second round and he has another opportunity for a deep run. Evans, meanwhile, will face an Australian, either James Duckworth or Christopher O’Connell.
For Paire, this latest performance means the former No 18 arrives at a crossroads in his career. He is barely winning matches these days, compiling a 4-22 record in ATP main draws this season. While his ranking was inflated for a long time since the pandemic began because of the ATP freezing ranking points, his position is now grim. He is ranked 173rd, meaning that this will be the last time he will be able to enter a grand slam main draw directly, earning $80,000 (£68,500) for minimal work. Should he wish to continue his career, he will have to drop down to ATP Challenger events and grand slam qualifying.
Paire is “mentally tired” around the tour. “I don’t know if I’m motivated to be back at my best,” he said. “For the moment I’m motivated to be at home, to see my family. To enjoy with my friends, to have a good time. I feel much better when I’m at home than at tournaments. I think that’s why my ranking is still bad. It’s not because I play bad tennis. I think my tennis is still here. Mentally, I’m not ready to fight, I’m not ready to be 100% on court. So I try to do my best but my best is bad.”
For now Paire is unsure of whether he will take time away from the sport. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do. Maybe I’ll stop the season now. Maybe I’ll play. Depends on my head. If my head says: ‘OK, it’s like before. You’re gonna fight, you’re gonna enjoy on court,’ I go straight on court. But the thing is, my head for the moment says: ‘I’m tired, I just need to have rest and to stay with the people I like.’”
In the night session, Rafael Nadal recovered from a set down to reach the second round with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 win over Australian wildcard Rinky Hijikata. Nadal, playing in his second tournament since withdrawing from his Wimbledon semi-final with an abdominal injury, will next face Fabio Fognini of Italy.
“Was not perfect. But happy. Second match in 50 days more or less. In some way was not the day to play perfect. It’s a day to just make the job done, and that’s what I did. Happy for that,” said Nadal.
