Cameron Norrie progressed to the third round of the Madrid Open after overcoming Tomas Machac in a tough encounter. The Briton described his victory as “one of the favourite matches” of his career after winning 6-2 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-5).
Norrie, who is 30 years old, had reached the quarter-finals of the Barcelona Open the previous week. He has never progressed beyond the third round in Madrid.
Norrie’s reflections on a challenging match
Norrie spoke to Sky Sports after the match. “I was feeling the ball really well in the first set but it was tough to hang with him in the second and I had to dig deep in the third set when I was down a break,” he said.
He added: “It was so, so good. It was one of the favourite matches of my career – the atmosphere was so good and it tested me in so many ways.
“These are the kind of matches where you can get through them and go on to have a great week.”
How Norrie Secured the Win
Norrie started strongly, breaking in the opening game and wrapping up the first set in just 36 minutes. However, Machac fought back, saving a match point in the second-set tie-break to level the match.
Machac had multiple opportunities to win, but failed to convert 11 of his 12 break point chances. Norrie broke back when Machac served for the match and then held his nerve to win the final tie-break.
Other notable results from the Madrid Open
Katie Boulter lost against Jessica Pegula 6-4 6-4. Jannik Sinner beat Benjamin Bonzi 6-7 (6-8) 6-1 6-4, marking his 18th successive victory after title wins at Indian Wells, the Miami Open and the Monte Carlo Masters.
Andrey Rublev, who won the tournament in 2024, suffered a 6-3 6-4 defeat against Vit Kopriva. Dino Prizmic pulled off an upset with a 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-5) win over Ben Shelton. Elena Rybakina overcame a difficult start to beat Elena Gabriela Ruse 4-6 6-3 7-5.
Coco Gauff returned from her quarter-final exit at the Stuttgart Open with a 6-3 6-0 victory against Leolia Jeanjean.
Norrie will face either Tommy Paul or Thiago Agustin Tirante in the next round as he seeks to progress further in the Madrid Open.