Jack Draper may well be the future of British men’s tennis but Cameron Norrie gave a timely reminder on Thursday that he is still around and, it seems, would quite like his British No 1 ranking back. In a match between the country’s top two, Norrie produced one of his best performances of the year as he clinched a 7-6 (3), 6-4, 7-6 (5) victory over the current No 1 to reach the third round for only the second time.
A semi-finalist two years ago, Norrie edged a tight first set thanks to a fast start in the tie-break. In the first clash between the British No 1 and No 2 in a grand slam event since Tim Henman beat Greg Rusedski at the Australian Open in 2002, Norrie’s greater grass-court experience and nous made the difference. He cruised through the second set and then recovered from 5-3 down in the third to wrap up a convincing victory.
“Jack’s been playing so well and we’re such good friends off the court,” Norrie said. “We had to put that aside today. I was pretty relaxed coming in, I was happy with my level and played really physical.
“I just wanted to keep trusting my movement, my legs. I’ve put in some really good practise, the level is there, It was nice to use it today and use my experience. I was a bit nervy toward the end of the tie-break but I managed to get it done.”
Norrie had insisted that he was the underdog against Draper, even though he had won their previous two meetings. Draper won his first title in Stuttgart last month and beat the Wimbledon champion, Carlos Alcaraz, at Queen’s Club, to be seeded in a slam for the first time, at No 28. Kidology or honesty, Norrie came out firing, fist pumping almost from the first point.
Draper needed his big serve to thank for hanging with Norrie in the first set but the older man ran down everything, always making Draper work. His flat groundstrokes made the tall Draper stoop low and in the tie-break it was Norrie who started the faster and finished it off in style.
Draper’s head dropped a little at the start of the second set and Norrie pounced, storming to a 4-0 lead. Though Draper then got one of the breaks back, he couldn’t stop Norrie from doubling his lead. Though Draper broke on his way to a 5-3 lead in the third, it never looked secure and Norrie broke back to love. In the tie-break, Draper saved a match point at 5-6 with two fine volleys but then double-faulted before dumping a return in the net as Norrie sealed the win.
Jacob Fearnley had admitted he had no idea how to beat Novak Djokovic, the seven-time champion, a man he had grown up watching on television. A month ago, the 22-year-old Scot was still at college in America but here he was, producing a stunning display that, if not quite enough to cause a mighty upset, gave Djokovic more of a fight than most thought likely before he went down 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5.
The world No 277 served big and was not overawed against Djokovic, who wore a grey strapping on his right knee, just a month after undergoing surgery. With a strong wind making clean ball striking difficult, the Serb was not at his best and his movement to his forehand side was again a little tentative.
But Fearnley also played aggressively and it paid off. Down a break early in the third, he recovered to 3-3 and then, at 6-5, forced a set point. A good return pushed Djokovic back and the world No 2 sent a wild forehand well wide.
When Fearnley had two break points to lead 4-2, a fifth set looked a genuine possibility. But that was when Djokovic knuckled down, saved the break points, broke in the 12th game and served out to advance to the third round.
“I’m really proud of my effort,” Fearnley said. “Obviously a little bit disappointed to come up with a loss, but I was playing the greatest tennis player of all time on Centre Court, Wimbledon, so it’s very difficult to be too disappointed.
“It’s just the start. I’ve been out of college for a bit over a month. So there’s a lot still in the future.”
Djokovic admitted his speed is not yet where it needs to be but says he is staying patient.
“The longer I stay in the tournament, I think the better the chances that my movement will improve,” he said. “I don’t worry about reinjuring my knee. I don’t have time nor energy to think about it, nor do I think it’s worth it. I wouldn’t be here unless I think that – not just myself, but the whole team – that I’m ready to compete at this level.”
At the age of 33 and playing here for the 14th time, Grigor Dimitrov has seen and experienced most things on a tennis court. On Thursday, the Bulgarian did something he has only done once before in his career, coming from two sets down to beat Shang Juncheng of China 5-7, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 to reach the third round.
Until his win over Alex Molcan at the US Open last year, Dimitrov had lost on all 27 occasions when he dropped the first two sets. But on another cool day enhanced by a strong wind, Dimitrov kept himself alive through grit, rather than his usual grace.
“It was definitely not one of my best matches, but I fought through, and that’s what matters the most in conditions like that, also against a player that I’ve never played against,” he said.
“It’s always a little tricky. I fought. I think that was the key. Very far from the game that I would like to be playing on the grass. But this one goes [on] one of my top shelves in a way of competing. I’m going take the most out of that.”
He will play another veteran, Gaël Monfils, on Saturday for a place in the last 16. “I’m here to play, I want to keep on fighting,” he said.
“I want to make sure that I clear up my game a little bit more. I want to give myself another chance. That’s what happened today.”
Hubert Hurkacz had been expected to make a big run here this year but a knee injury late in the fourth set of his second-round battle with Arthur Fils forced him to retire. Trailing two sets to one and standing at 7-7 in the fourth-set tie-break, Hurkacz dived for a forehand volley and won the point as Fils netted a forehand.
He then keeled over, unable to put weight on his right knee. After brief treatment, Hurkacz tried to play on, even diving on the next point. But after losing the first two points to stand match point down, he conceded defeat.
