Britain’s Cameron Norrie started his clay-court season with a victory, defeating Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic in the first round of the Monte Carlo Masters.
Norrie, who had not won a match at the tournament since 2019, overcame Kecmanovic 6-2 4-6 7-6 (7-0).
Norrie Battles Through Tense Decider
After dominating the opening set, Norrie struggled in the second.
He dropped serve three times, including in his final two service games.
The decider proved tense, with the Briton broken by the world number 58 when serving for the match at 5-4 ahead.
But in the tie-break it was world number 24 Norrie who raised his game to come through.
Rematch Against De Minaur Awaits
The 30-year-old will next face a rematch with Australian world number six Alex de Minaur.
Norrie defeated de Minaur on his way to the quarter-finals in Indian Wells last month.
Norrie was beaten in qualifying last year.
Cameron Norrie is British number one again after leapfrogging Jack Draper in March.