US Open: Cameron Norrie and Dan Evans both reach New York second round
- Published
- comments
Cameron Norrie moved to a career high ranking of ninth in the world last week
US Open 2022 |
|---|
Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York Dates: 29 August-11 September |
Coverage: Daily radio commentaries across BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website and app, with selected live text commentaries and match reports on the website and app |
British pair Cameron Norrie and Dan Evans began their US Open bids with routine wins over first-round opponents who could not cope with their level.
Seventh seed Norrie won the first set against Benoit Paire in 18 minutes before the Frenchman improved to make a contest of the second.
But Norrie ran away with the third when Paire's level dropped again to win 6-0 7-6 (7-1) 6-0 in sticky conditions.
Evans, seeded 20th, won 6-4 6-1 6-1 against Czech opponent Jiri Vesely.
The British number two was already in control when Vesely's level dipped in the second set and won 11 of the final 12 games to close out an straightforward victory.
But Emma Raducanu's defence of her title came to an end at the first hurdle, with the 19-year-old losing 6-3 6-3 to France's Alize Cornet in the night session in New York.
Norrie keeps focused amid Paire's antics
Left-hander Norrie had never reached the second week at a major before a superb display at the All England Club which catapulted him into national stardom.
Moving into the top eight seedings at the season's final Grand Slam tournament - a result of reaching a career-high ranking of ninth and taking advantage of withdrawals by Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev - opens up the draw for Norrie.
The Briton cannot play a higher-ranked opponent until the quarter-finals, if he gets there, but faced a potentially tricky match against former world number 18 Paire.
You never know what you are going to get with Paire, although the catalogue of errors and general insouciance seen in the first and third sets has been a common sight in recent times.
At Wimbledon the 33-year-old spoke about his "disgust for tennis", then opened up to French website Brut about his mental health struggles.
In a hot and humid New York, he made a woeful start as Norrie maintained his focus in a composed and professional opening set.
Norrie hit the ball cleanly and made just one unforced error, landing 10 winners and five aces, as 173rd-ranked Paire provided little resistance.
Many sweltering spectators left the court as they seemingly were not prepared to watch a no-contest in those conditions, only for the Frenchman to suddenly click into gear at the start of the second set.
Finally he had found some belief and forced Norrie to save a break point to hold at 3-3.
Paire sat in the shade in a corner of the court when a fan received medical treatment
There was a concerning moment in the next game when a fan in the stands needed treatment, forcing a long pause where Paire was warned by umpire Carlos Bernardes for chatting to his coach.
Off-court coaching has been allowed in certain circumstances at this year's US Open, although the rules appear hard to enforce and liable to be pushed.
But players are not supposed to speak to a coach during a break in play, which Andy Murray said did not make sense to him, and so Bernardes was correct to speak to Paire.
After play resumed the Frenchman broke for a 5-3 lead but could not serve out the set and then appeared to be tanking the third set as Norrie cruised to victory.
Norrie refused to criticise Paire's application, saying he had seen "worse performances from him".
"If I'm him looking down at the other end and it is a boiling day and I'm playing Cam Norrie, arguably one of the fitter guys on the tour and two sets to love down, I think it can be tough mentally to approach that," said Norrie.
"He looked a little bit done and cooked physically, which was great for me.
"He is flashy and has some really good weeks and some weeks where he doesn't show up mentally. But he earned his position in the draw and deserves that."
Norrie will play Portugal's Joao Sousa on Thursday.
'I didn't do much running' - Evans pleased with performance
Evans reached the US Open fourth round last year, which was the joint-best run of his career at a major
Like Norrie, 32-year-old Evans plays in New York with the highest seeding of his career and also produced a focused performance against an ailing opponent.
The quality of his display, in similarly draining conditions, was illustrated by finishing with 44 winners and only eight unforced errors.
It was a return to the form which Evans showed when he reached the Montreal semi-finals earlier this month, having lost in the Cincinnati first round in his last tournament before going to New York.
"It's been quite a while since Cincinnati but it was nice to get out and I played very well," said Evans, who will take on Australian James Duckworth next.
"I played well the week before and I didn't play great in Cincinnati but it's the first round and the start of a new tournament and you have to start building again.
"I didn't do too much running, I served well and dictated pretty well."
Evans lost in the Wimbledon first round and says he is enjoying being in the United States after calling the British grass season a "difficult time of year" because of the increased scrutiny.
"I don't particularly enjoy it. It's just a harder time of year to play tennis and very different to the day in, day out stuff on the tour," said Evans, who reached the fourth round in New York last year.
"It's way busier for the Brits. It's not an excuse, it's a fact."
How is the iconic red double-decker bus made? Gregg Wallace goes Inside the Factory to find out
From footballing heaven to personal hell: This is the raw and honest story of Paul Gascoigne and his turbulent life
