Cameron Norrie sets up Rogers Cup second-round meeting in Montreal with Alexander Zverev
Tuesday 6 August 2019 16:23, UK
Cameron Norrie has set up a second-round meeting with Alexander Zverev at the Rogers Cup in Montreal.
The British No 3 came from a set down to beat Marton Fucsovics 5-7 6-2 6-3 in two hours and seven minutes in the opening round.
Norrie battled after being broken three times in the first set and his reward is an encounter with the third seed Zverev.
Zverev won the title in Montreal two years ago and enjoyed a morale-boosting doubles victory on Monday with Andrey Rublev. The duo knocked out the third seeds Mate Pavic and Bruno Soares 6-3 7-6 (7-3).
Despite having had a tough season so far, the young German player is looking positively towards the future.
"It has been a horrible year, right? I am still top 10 in the ATP Race To London and I'm still No 5 in the ATP Rankings right now," said the 22-year-old. "You can always see things with the glass half empty or half full."
It helps going back to places where you know you have done well, where you have won the tournament and you feel comfortable. I hope this will be the case. I hope this place will help me on court and we will see how it goes.
Elsewhere in the draw, Stan Wawrinka beat Grigor Dimitrov 6-4 6-4 to set up a meeting with Karen Khachanov.
Wawrinka was returning to court for the first time since he lost in the second round of Wimbledon and the 34-year-old put down an impressive display on serve, hitting 12 aces and winning 86 per cent of first-serve points.
In front of a home crowd, Milos Raonic made light work of Lucas Pouille as he dispatched the Frenchman 6-4 6-4 in just an hour and 12 minutes.
"I thought I came out, I executed on the things I wanted to do. I knew it was going to be a difficult match. I found a way to sort of get a hold of it and play on my terms," said Raonic post-match.
His reward will be a match-up against a fellow Canadian as Felix Auger-Aliassime and Vasek Pospisil will duel for the honour of being on the other side of the net to Raonic.
Another element to their meeting is the fact that they played together in the doubles on Monday and lost 7-6 (9-7) 7-5 to Jeremy Chardy and Fabrice Martin.
The American qualifier Tommy Paul didn't waste any time out on court either as he needed just 65 minutes to beat Brayden Schnur 6-1 6-2 and will meet Fabio Fognini in the second round.
Tuesday's order of play will see the Citi Open champion, Nick Kyrgios, headline the evening session against Britain's Kyle Edmund.
In Washington the Australian made the tennis world sit up and listen as he put down exceptional work on court and felt that he had made positive moves off it too.
"I feel like I've made major strides. I'm just going to take it one day at a time and hopefully, I can continue on this new path," said Kyrgios after his tournament win.
"It's only the beginning and it showed this week by winning. I had the same routine every day. And I just felt I felt actually like a traditional tennis player this week.
Edmund has won the only encounter between them and he comes off the back of an upward curve after a quarter-final finish in Washington.
The 12th seed John Isner will take on Jordan Thompson and Marin Cilic faces-off against an American qualifier Bradley Klahn.
In the doubles draw there's a notable return for a much-loved pairing as Andy Murray and Feliciano Lopez have taken a wildcard to enter the tournament in Montreal.
The champions of Queen's Club will commence their campaign the second seeds - Poland's Lukasz Kubot and Brazil's Marcelo Melo and will be eager to pick up where they left off in London.
"Playing with Andy [at Queen's] was a fantastic experience," said Lopez recently to Sky Sports.
"I was humbled when he asked me to play doubles with him and so happy for him that he would be back on a tennis court. We had a lot of fun together and I think our chemistry and good energy made us play well.
"We are hoping for another great run in Montreal but to be honest for me the most important thing is to see him healthy again and enjoying competitive tennis.
"After Canada we will talk to see other potential tournaments going forward but it will really depend on how he feels physically. I will always be happy and ready to play with Andy."
