Cameron Norrie overcomes illness to reach Madrid Open second round
The former British number one claimed a 6-7 (4) 7-5 6-4 victory in his opening match.
Cameron Norrie saved a match point and battled through illness to beat Spanish youngster Martin Landaluce in the opening round of the Madrid Open.
Norrie has struggled for form over the last year, slipping to 91 in the world, and the former British number one had not won an ATP Tour match since Indian Wells in early March.
He was clearly not at his best physically against 19-year-old Landaluce but used his experience to secure a 6-7 (4) 7-5 6-4 victory.
Norrie revealed afterwards he has been struggling with sickness, saying on Sky Sports: “It’s terrible timing but at least I have another day tomorrow to rest. Hopefully it will pass pretty quickly.”
An up-and-down match saw Norrie lose five games in a row from 3-0 up in the opening set and then fight back from 3-0 down in the second before Landaluce narrowly missed a big forehand on match point at 4-5.
Norrie took his opportunity to force a deciding set and a wild game from his young opponent at 4-4 proved the difference.
“It’s maybe one of my favourite wins,” said Norrie, who next faces 26th seed Jiri Lehecka.
“I was feeling absolutely terrible, I wasn’t sure I was going to play, I had no energy, didn’t sleep at all last night. I started very low energy, sleeping on the court still. I had to create my own energy. He actually played really well, I know he’s a really good player, so I had to fight every point.”
Norrie’s section of the draw has opened up because of the withdrawal earlier on Thursday of second seed Carlos Alcaraz.
The home favourite needed treatment for a leg injury in his Barcelona Open final defeat by Holger Rune on Sunday and has not recovered sufficiently.
He told a press conference: “I’m really disappointed that I’m not able to play here in Madrid, it’s a place that I love playing, in front of my people.
“It was a really difficult situation, really difficult to decide, but it is what it is. You have to hear your body sometimes. I will come back stronger.”
Alcaraz is due to defend his French Open title in Paris in a month’s time.
Britain’s successful round one was completed by an impressive 6-3 7-6 (2) victory for qualifier Jacob Fearnley over China’s Bu Yunchaokete, setting up a clash with 19th seed Tomas Machac.
In the women’s draw, defending champion Iga Swiatek gained revenge for her shock Miami Open loss to Filipino teenager Alexandra Eala.
It was another difficult encounter for the Pole, though, with 19-year-old Eala leading by a set and a break before Swiatek fought back to win 4-6 6-4 6-2.
Coco Gauff failed to win a game in the opening set against Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska but recovered well to win 0-6 6-2 7-5 while Australian Open champion Madison Keys defeated Lucia Bronzetti 6-4 6-3.
There was a shock loss for Stuttgart champion Jelena Ostapenko, who extended her head-to-head advantage against Swiatek to 6-0 on her way to the title in Germany on Monday.
But Ostapenko fell at the first hurdle in the Spanish capital to fellow Latvian Anastasija Sevastova, who is making her second comeback in three years following maternity leave and a serious knee injury.
Elsewhere, seventh seed Mirra Andreeva saw off Marie Bouzkova 6-3 6-4 while 11th seed Emma Navarro defeated Australian qualifier Maya Joint 7-5 7-5.
