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Rafael Nadal beats Cameron Norrie in straight sets to end Britain's Australian Open singles interest

Simon Briggs
·14 min read
Nadal marches on, Norrie and Britain do not - GETTY IMAGES
Nadal marches on, Norrie and Britain do not - GETTY IMAGES

You have to feel for Cameron Norrie. This should have been the match of his life: a meeting with Rafael Nadal on the grand stage of Rod Laver Arena. And yet, almost every one of the 15,000 seats was empty because of a five-day “circuit-breaker” lockdown across Melbourne.

Had Norrie been playing a showman like Nick Kyrgios – or even Roger Federer, who has sidestepped empty stadia thus far – then the lack of a crowd might have worked in his favour. In all probability, the absence of atmosphere would have subdued his opponent’s flair.

But Norrie was up against Nadal – a man who needs no outside inspiration. The Spaniard is so competitive, he is never spotted in the player lounge without a board game on the go.

Norrie gave a decent account of himself in the circumstances. He broke early in the first set and troubled Nadal with his flat and skiddy backhands, which have a touch of Jimmy Connors about them. Even so, the impression was of a crow harrying an eagle as he went down to a 7-5, 6-2, 7-5 defeat.

“Always gonna be nice to play a big dog like Rafa,” said Norrie afterwards. “Just kind of a bit strange … coming out there on the biggest court with no one there and it was pretty dull.”

It is five years since anyone outside the top 30 beat Nadal at a major. Given that Norrie stands at No69, everyone knew that this would be the end of the road for British singles players in Melbourne. Still, that doesn’t make it any more pleasant to report that, for the fourth straight slam, no-one has reached the second week.

In Melbourne, our six-strong contingent scored three victories between them, but one of those was Brit-on-Brit (Norrie versus Dan Evans in the first round), while the other two came against opponents ranked outside the top 100.

While more brickbats for the embattled Lawn Tennis Association are surely deserved, they can wait for another day. In the short term, Norrie pointed out that this will be a tricky period for Britons trying to gain momentum, because of the travel restrictions they face if they go home.

“My plan was never to go back to the UK,” said Norrie, who hopes to find a flight to Singapore in time for the ATP event there on Feb 22. “As soon as you do that ten days' quarantine, you're going to lose a lot of your training and physicality.”

The only restrictions afflicting Nadal have been in his lower back. But after three weeks of stiffness, he was delighted to report an improvement after the match. Having served with a truncated action in the first two rounds, he finally felt loose enough to revert to his standard technique.

Nadal loves to undersell himself coming into a major, and it seems to have worked this year. Despite his collection of 20 grand-slam titles – which places him level with Federer at the top of the chart – the bookies are still listing him as only the fourth favourite behind Daniil Medvedev, Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem.

But with Djokovic’s fitness in doubt, after he suffered abdominal pain against Taylor Fritz on Friday, Nadal must now be scenting a whiff of that record 21st title.

“I don't know what's he's feeling,” said Nadal, when asked about Djokovic’s possible injury. “For two sets looks like he's going to retire and then in the fifth I think he played quite normal [on] a lot of points. A strange feeling for me like a spectator. But he found a way to win, so well done.”

Earlier on, Medvedev had finally managed to score a five-set win at a major. It was the seventh time he had gone to a deciding set, and the previous near-misses had included his heart-breaking loss to Nadal in the 2019 US Open final.

This win was both eventful and emotional. During Filip Krajinovic’s comeback from two sets down to two sets all, Medvedev directed so many furious shouts at his player’s box that his coach, Gilles Cervara, simply picked up his bag and left the stadium.

"He said just before leaving that he's sure I'm going to win the match, but he's going to leave to let me be more calm," Medvedev told reporters after finishing strongly to seal a 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 6-0 win. “Sometimes maybe I will disagree but this time for sure it was a good thing to do.”

In the women’s draw, world No 1 Ashleigh Barty has been wearing a heavy strapping on her left thigh for much of this event, but she kept her campaign rolling with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia.

Meanwhile, Andy Murray will play Illya Marchenko of Ukraine on Sunday in the final of the Biella Challenger after beating France's Mathias Bourgue by a 6-0, 7-5 margin.

12:16 PM

NADAL WINS IN STRAIGHT SETS 7-5, 6-2, 7-5

Norrie loses his serve and with it the match as Nadal breaks to win 7-5, 6-2, 7-5. Terrific effort from Norrie who played his part in this two-hour, 14-minute contest. Nadal upped his level as the match went on and will be relieved to get through in three sets. The Spaniard can now look forward to a fourth-round encounter with Italian 16th seed Fabio Fognini.

12:10 PM

Norrie* 5-7, 2-6, 5-6 Nadal (*denotes next server)

Not the easiest of service games for Nadal, but the Spaniard holds to regain the lead in this third set. Nadal's looked agitated out there at times and he won't want to prolong this match for much longer.

12:07 PM

Norrie 5-7, 2-6, 5-5 Nadal* (*denotes next server)

Norrie, playing with the same kind of confidence he showed in the first set, levels with a good love service hold.

12:04 PM

Norrie* 5-7, 2-6, 4-5 Nadal (*denotes next server)

Nadal's a game away from the fourth round as he takes a 5-4 lead in this third set. A mixture of good serving and seizing his moments to pounce on midcourt Norrie balls.

12:00 PM

Norrie 5-7, 2-6, 4-4 Nadal* (*denotes next server)

Another good hold from Norrie. His first serve looked like it deserted him for a while, but he did well to hold on and stay the course. No separating them in this third set.

11:54 AM

Norrie* 5-7, 2-6, 3-4 Nadal (*denotes next server)

Love service hold for Nadal as he closes in. They're closing the roof on Rod Laver as rain begins to fall in Melbourne. Nadal opts to go off court as Norrie sits in his thoughts.

11:49 AM

Norrie 5-7, 2-6, 3-3 Nadal* (*denotes next server)

Norrie's improved from his efforts in the second set as he levels at 3-3 in the third. The Brit's not going down without a fight.

11:42 AM

Norrie* 5-7, 2-6, 2-3 Nadal (*denotes next server)

Both players racing through their service games. We're 20 minutes into this third set and already have five games chalked off.

11:39 AM

Norrie 5-7, 2-6, 2-2 Nadal* (*denotes next server)

Love service hold for Norrie who raced through that game in 67 seconds.

11:37 AM

Norrie* 5-7, 2-6, 1-2 Nadal (*denotes next server)

Nadal's holding his serve with a lot more ease in this third set. Looks like the Spaniard is playing within himself now after being pushed in the first set. Pressure back on Norrie.

11:34 AM

Norrie 5-7, 2-6, 1-1* Nadal (*denotes next server)

Great hold from Norrie! Nadal had numerous opportunities to break, but the Brit stuck it out in gutsy fashion. 1-1.

11:29 AM

Norrie* 5-7, 2-6, 0-1 Nadal (*denotes next server)

Nadal holds. Really important for Norrie to get on the board here and maintain his level.

11:23 AM

SECOND SET NADAL

Nadal takes the second set 6-2 and is just one set away from the fourth round. Nadal played a much more cleaner set of tennis and seemed to tidy up the errors he was making in the opening set. Norrie was competitive and did well to stay in the contest, but Nadal's class shone through.

11:18 AM

Norrie* 5-7, 2-5 Nadal (*denotes next server)

Nadal's a game away from securing a two sets to love lead. Much more consistent tennis from Nadal who looks a lot more solid this second set. Can Norrie hold here and make Nadal serve it out?

11:14 AM

Norrie 5-7, 2-4 Nadal* (*denotes next server)

Norrie's broken to love emphatically. Advantage Nadal in this second set.

11:11 AM

Norrie* 5-7, 2-3 Nadal (*denotes next server)

Nadal takes the lead after another love service game. The back doesn't seem to be causing the Spaniard any issues. He's moving well and striking the ball with his usual ferocity.

11:08 AM

Norrie 5-7, 2-2 Nadal* (*denotes next server)

Important hold for Norrie. Saved break points as it looked like Nadal was ready to pounce. The Brit fends off the challenge to keep proceedings on serve.

11:02 AM

Norrie highlight from the first set

11:01 AM

Norrie* 5-7, 1-2 Nadal (*denotes next server)

Norrie made Nadal work for that game who wins it from 0-30 down to take a 2-1 lead. We remain on serve in this second set.

10:58 AM

Norrie 5-7, 1-1 Nadal* (*denotes next server)

Norrie levels up with a quick service game of his own.

10:56 AM

Second Set: Norrie* 5-7, 0-1 Nadal (*denotes next server)

Rafael Nadal of Spain in action during his men's singles third round match against Cameron Norrie - DEAN LEWINS/Shutterstock

Nadal holds to get things started in this second set. Good game from the Spaniard who won't want to be out there for too long.

10:50 AM

FIRST SET NADAL

Nadal takes the opening set 7-5 after breaking the Norrie serve. 48 minutes of engaging tennis from both men who exchanged breaks. Nadal will be relieved to secure that set after Norrie, who looks unfazed out there, continues to play with confidence.

10:45 AM

Norrie* 5-6 Nadal (*denotes next server)

Another easy hold for Nadal who puts the pressure back on the Brit.

10:44 AM

Norrie 5-5 Nadal* (*denotes next server)

Good hold from Norrie who draws level. Did all the basics to secure that game and continues to hit with confidence. Nadal doesn't look all that comfortable out there which is a credit to Norrie's game.

10:38 AM

Norrie* 4-5 Nadal (*denotes next server)

Nadal's a game away from wrapping up the first set. Norrie's causing the Spaniard a lot of problems out there which shows in the unforced error count - Nadal 14 to Norrie's 10. Big moment coming up for Norrie here who needs to hold to prolong this opening set.

10:34 AM

Norrie 4-4 Nadal* (*denotes next server)

Norrie, serving with new balls, levels to love. The Brit hit an ace at 30-0 which Nadal seemed to take issue with - implying he wasn't ready. Let's see if things get chippy.

10:31 AM

Norrie* 3-4 Nadal (*denotes next server)

We're back on serve as Nadal takes the lead after a comfortable service hold. It's as if Nadal was disgusted with being broken in his previous service game as holds with ease to regain the lead.

10:27 AM

Norrie 3-3 Nadal* (*denotes next server)

Nadal breaks back immediately. The 20-time Grand Slam champion seemed to up the intensity levels to get things back on level terms.

10:25 AM

Norrie* 3-2 Nadal (*denotes next server)

Norrie breaks! Good pressure from the Brit to break Nadal and take a 3-2 lead. Norrie soaked up all pressure Nadal was applying. Can he consolidate ?

10:20 AM

Norrie 2-2 Nadal* (*denotes next server)

Another good hold from Norrie who saved a couple of break points. Norrie's serve was looking a little shaky in the middle of that game, and he threw in a double fault before eventually going on to hold.

10:13 AM

Norrie* 1-2 Nadal (*denotes next server)

Another easy hold for Nadal who is hitting big from the back of the court and moving Norrie from wing-to-wing. 12 minutes in and we're on serve.

10:09 AM

Norrie 1-1 Nadal * (*denotes next server)

Nadal rips a forehand winner down the line to bring a 16-shot rally to an end. Norrie registered his first point in the match at 15-30. Nadal, with the early pressure, had break point opportunities but Norrie does well to hold.

10:02 AM

First set: Norrie* 0-1 Nadal (*denotes next server)

Ace to start things off for Nadal who holds to love. The back seems fine!

09:55 AM

Players are warming up...

Nadal won the toss and elected to serve. Norrie elected a change of ends.

09:51 AM

Big win for Rogers on Rod Laver

American Shelby Rogers beats 21st seed Anett Kontaveit 6-4, 6-3. She'll play world No 1 and top seed Ash Barty in round four.

09:43 AM

Seeds moving on in the bottom half

Daniil Medvedev (4); Stefanos Tsitsipas (5); Andrey Rublev (7); and Matteo Berrettini (9) all won their third-round matches on Day 6.

09:34 AM

Australian Open behind closed doors

09:01 AM

Norrie-Nadal preview

Hello and welcome to Day 6 at Melbourne Park and coverage of Cameron Norrie’s third-round encounter with world No 2 Rafael Nadal.

The British No3, who ousted fellow Brit Dan Evans in the opening round, came back from a set down to beat Russian qualifier Roman Safiullin 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 in round two.

Nadal’s second round match was much more straightforward. The 20-time Grand Slam champion took out another qualifier in the shape of American Michael Mmoh in straight sets 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 and looked in good shape despite his well publicised back issues.

This third round match, a first meeting between the two lefties, will be played inside an empty Rod Laver Arena as a result of Victoria going into a five-day lockdown on Friday night.

Speaking to the press about the prospect of facing Nadal, the 25-year-old said: “It’s unbelievable, I never thought I would play against them [Nadal, Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic]. I was watching them when I was young and thinking it would be cool. So it’s going to be amazing.”

Read Simon Briggs’ take on the task at hand for Norrie here.

Norrie may be the only Brit left in the singles draw at the Australian Open, but there is British interest in the doubles. Fifth seeds Joe Salisbury and Rajeev Ram are going well and are through to the third round. As are sixth seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares.

Heather Watson, who lost a tight three-setter to Anett Kontaveit on Thursday, is playing with the talented Canadian teenager Leylah Fernandez. The pair knocked out the 10th seeds in the first round and will look to continue their good form in the third round on Sunday.