Cameron Norrie kept the British flag flying as he booked his place in the Wimbledon quarter-finals with victory over Tommy Paul.
By the time Norrie had broken in the opening game of the match he was the only British singles player left in the draw, after Heather Watson fell to a straight-sets defeat on Centre Court earlier in the afternoon.
The 26-year-old shown no signs of any added pressure weighing on him though, easing his way to a 6-4 7-5 6-4 win. What was already the best Grand Slam run of his career has got even better, with a quarter-final against David Goffin to come, after the Belgian battled past Frances Tiafoe in an epic encounter lasting four hours and 37 minutes.
Norrie made a quick start on Court 1, breaking immediately at the start of the first set before backing it up with a hold to love. The sixth game of the match took more than ten minutes, with Norrie having to save four break points before eventually coming through it to lead 4-2, but from then on it was plain sailing for the ninth seed. A swift hold brought up the opening set, the first Paul had dropped in the tournament.
The second always looked like following once Norrie brought up two break points and needed just one, a tame shot from Paul confirming the Brit’s position of dominance. As though a replay of the first set was being shown, a mammoth sixth game followed, Norrie saving just the two break points this time though, as Paul piled on the pressure but ultimately had nothing to show for it.
This time the job was not yet done done for Norrie, as he was broken for the first time in the match when serving for the set at 5-4. His reply was an emphatic one, breaking Paul’s serve in the very next game before rushing his way through a hold to move within a set of the last eight at the second time of asking.
Once more Norrie quickly took control of a set with an early break at the start of the third, needing three break points before eventually doing so. A muted ‘come on’ to his box was the extent of his reaction. Paul kept himself in the set, holding firm on serve from that point onwards, but the damage was done.
The first match point came and went, as a tight looking forehand Norrie forehand flew long, but a second opportunity was all he needed to march on and keep his Wimbledon dream alive.
