Cameron Norrie kept alive British singles interest at this year’s French Open despite being forced to dig deep and win a five-set thriller against home favourite Benoit Paire on Monday.
Norrie is the last Brit standing in singles at Roland Garros after Jack Draper was forced to retire injured from his opening match earlier in the day.
But he survived a nail-biter with Frenchman Paire and the raucous Roland Garros crowd to win 7-5 4-6 3-6 6-1 6-4.
“It was an amazing match,” said Norrie. “All credit to Benoit. He played really well. He made it really difficult. Great atmosphere, thank you to everyone for the support both ways, it was amazing. I’m pleased to be through after a really tough one.”
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There looked set to be a British wipe-out for the second time in four editions in Paris when Norrie trailed 4-2 in the deciding set on Suzanne Lenglen.
But 14th seed Norrie pulled off a stunning victory after three hours and 33 minutes to set up a meeting with another Frenchman, Lucas Pouille.
Paire has toyed with retirement at the age of 34 and came into the event as a wild card ranked 134.
He probably should have won a scrappy first set that lasted almost an hour, breaking for 4-3 and then having seven more break points after Norrie had levelled.
Norrie’s fighting spirit and a dependable wide serve to Paire’s backhand helped him through the opener.
He looked a little more relaxed at the start of the second set and immediately had a break point but it was he who was broken to trail 2-1 after a contentious moment when umpire Nico Helwerth docked him a point for what appeared a very harsh hindrance call at 30-30, the official claiming Norrie had shouted out during play.
The partisan crowd were in full voice when Paire managed to hold to level the match, and the French national anthem boomed around Suzanne Lenglen when their man broke again to lead 2-1 in the third set.
With Paire feeding off the support, Norrie was kept on the back foot and this corner of Paris was in party mood as the Frenchman moved two sets to one in front.
The fourth set went by in a flash, with Paire broken early and then appearing to save himself for a decider, where Norrie handed his opponent the initiative again right at the start with a game full of errors.
But the British No 1 did not allow his head to drop and his probing earned dividends with a break back for 4-4 before Paire finally cracked.
Paire vs Norrie: Tale of the Tape
| Paire | Match Stats | Norrie |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | Aces | 5 |
| 9 | Double Faults | 3 |
| 80% | 1st serve win percentage | 62% |
| 35% | 2nd serve win percentage | 62% |
| 6/20 | Break points won | 8/23 |
| 30/45 | Net points won | 23/38 |
| 70 | Total winners | 38 |
| 81 | Unforced errors | 40 |
More injury woes for Draper
Draper suffered more physical problems when a left shoulder injury forced him to pull out during his first-round clash with Tomas Etcheverry after just 65 minutes of action.
The 21-year-old has struggled with hip and abdominal problems this season but declared himself fully fit ahead of the year’s second Grand Slam.
However, it became clear in the eighth game that Draper was ailing physically again when he started to serve underarm.
He managed to hold serve to make it 4-4 but Argentine Etcheverry claimed the next two to take the opening set, after which a resigned-looking Draper called the trainer.
He took some pills and tried to play on but, trailing 0-30 in the second game of the second set, admitted defeat and shook hands with his opponent before trudging off court.
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There is no doubt about Draper’s potential but, rather like his former junior compatriot Emma Raducanu, his body has so far been unable to hold up to the rigours of top-level tennis.
Draper now has five weeks to recover in time for Wimbledon, which starts on July 3.