British No 1 Cameron Norrie powers past Casper Ruud 6-4 6-7 (7-9) 6-4 6-3 to reach the second week of the Australian Open for the first time in his career; we will bring you live scores, reports, analysis and features from Melbourne over the next fortnight
Saturday 20 January 2024 16:55, UK
Cameron Norrie, Britain's sole survivor in singles' competition, made it through to the second week of the Australian Open for the first time thanks to a fabulous four-set victory over Casper Ruud.
Norrie had never beaten a player ranked as high as world No 11 Ruud at a major tournament while he had lost all three previous matches against the Norwegian, who is a three-time Grand Slam finalist.
But the 28-year-old played with purpose and aggression to claim a 6-4 6-7 (7-9) 6-4 6-3 victory, booking a place in the last 16 against sixth seed Alexander Zverev.
Normally known as a baseline grinder, Norrie came to the net 56 times during the contest and cracked an impressive 63 winners.
Given the occasion, this is one of the best wins of his career and he said: "It's so special. I just kept a really good level throughout the match.
"I've been working really hard in the off-season on trying to be a little bit more aggressive. I managed to free up in the match and I really let go."
Ruud's forehand is a formidable weapon and Norrie went straight after his backhand, which paid immediate dividends with a break for 2-1.
The British No 1 had to dig deep to hold onto his advantage, getting out of a hole at 0-40 in the sixth game and saving another break point at 5-4 before serving it out.
Ruud was the better player in the second set - Norrie again recovered from 0-40 in the third game - with the Norwegian barely facing any pressure on serve.
The tie-break should have been Norrie's, though, but he narrowly missed a backhand down the line at 6-4 and Ruud saved another set point with a big serve before clinching his second opportunity with an ace.
Sitting down at one set all must have been galling for Norrie, and Ruud seemed to have taken a grip on the match when he finally converted his ninth break point to lead 3-2.
However, Norrie hit straight back, with Ruud suddenly the man under pressure on his serve.
The former Wimbledon semi-finalist was coming to the net on virtually every point and he created a set point at 5-4, taking it when Ruud netted a backhand.
The 11th seed had also played a five-setter in the second round but the fight seemed to drain out of him at the start of the fourth and, although he did force a break point at 2-4, Norrie again had the answer.
Speaking about the atmosphere on John Cain Arena, Norrie added: "There was all sorts of nicknames out there. Come on Noz-dog, Noz, all things like that. It was good stuff. I could tell you guys had had a few drinks on a Saturday afternoon - really good atmosphere!"
Norrie will face Zverev in the last 16 on Monday after the German overcame unseeded American teenager Alex Michelsen in straight sets, winning 6-2 7-6 (7-4) 6-2.
Sky Sports' Raz Mirza:
Norrie turned into Tim Henman on John Cain today with the Brit changing his game plan to finally get that illusive win over Ruud and he thoroughly deserved it too.
He came to the net 56 times, winning 41 of those points and even took to serve-and-volleying at the big moments.
It was like watching Henman in his prime at Wimbledon, but here Norrie knew what he had to do to subdue the three-time Grand Slam finalist, executing a total of 63 winners and claiming one of his greatest Grand Slam wins.
This is a throwback to the Norrie we saw winning the title in Indian Wells as well as reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon.
He may have dropped off the radar last year, but Cam is back to his best here in Melbourne and there's real hope he can go even deeper into this tournament.
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