While most top players took their first timid steps on clay once spring arrived, Cameron Norrie has spent the vast majority of the year grinding away on the dirt. His clay-court education continued on Friday as he reached the third round of the Italian Open by easing past Alexandre Müller of France, the world No 100, 6-2, 6-3.
Tennis players tend to schedule with their immediate goals in mind, prioritising their favourite surfaces and conditions, but after a Davis Cup tie on clay in Colombia in February, world No 13 Norrie decided to remain in South America and contest the “Golden Swing” in Buenos Aires and Rio.
Norrie played the long game. He hoped to spend more time on clay and gain more experience but he was unsure how it would pan out. He finished with a final in Argentina before winning the second-biggest title of his career by defeating Carlos Alcaraz, his conqueror in Buenos Aires, in the Brazil final.
“It was risky,” Norrie told the Guardian. “I wanted to go back at some point to play in South America to do that. I wanted to set myself up well for these tournaments. I haven’t played my best in these tournaments but obviously I did really well there, making a final and winning Rio.”
After a strong start to the season with two finals and the ATP 500 title in Rio, Norrie hit a wall. Two months ago in Miami he lost his opening match quickly to Grégoire Barrère, the world No 63. He has since struggled on clay, losing in the first round of Monte Carlo and in his second match in Barcelona and Madrid.
Even after his brutal third-set tiebreak loss to Zhang Zhizhen in Madrid this month, however, Norrie remained positive and upbeat post-match, certain he would turn a corner soon. After victory over Müller, the 27-year-old will face Marton Fucsovics, who defeated Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-4 for a place in the third round.
“I want to try to peak for Roland Garros,” said Norrie. “It always takes me longer to play well. I’m definitely finding my feet on the clay.”
Away from the action, Norrie is searching for a Spanish teacher in order to finally learn the language. He is surrounded by Spanish speakers within his circle, most notably through his longtime coach and close friend, Facundo Lugones, an Argentinian.
“I’ve been going to South America, being in Spain, spending so much time with my team. I should be better than I am [at Spanish] but I don’t really know the basics that well,” he said. “I know lots of tennis terminology but I should be better. I need to practise and I need to find the right tutor but it’s tough with this life.”
Novak Djokovic also moved into the third round with a 7-6 (5), 6-2 win over Tomás Martín Etcheverry of Argentina, his first match since withdrawing from the Madrid Open due to elbow pain. The contest began with worrying signs as Djokovic immediately put on an elbow sleeve after dropping his opening service game. But despite trailing for the majority of the set, including 5-3 in the tiebreak, Djokovic was rock solid in the decisive moments.
“You act like you’re 100%,” said Djokovic of how he handled his return. “Most of the time I guess you’re not but you want to show your opponent that you’re out there and trying to fight for every ball. But I found my groove towards the end of the first set and the second set was good, especially the last three or four games.”
Iga Swiatek started her tournament with a statement, inflicting a vicious 6-0, 6-0 second-round thrashing on 2021 French Open finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. It is the second double bagel Swiatek has dished out on this court, having dealt the same to Karolina Pliskova in their 2021 final.
Pavlyuchenkova, still trying to recover her standing in the game after a significant knee injury last year, is ranked 506 and suffered the misfortune of the toughest draw possible.
“When I’m playing these kinds of matches, I’m just trying to be focused,” said Swiatek. “It’s actually pretty hard to be focused when you are thinking [about the score]. So I’m trying to remember about what got me this nice score, what I should do to continue playing that well. I just want to be consistent in it.”
