French Open 2023: Cameron Norrie eases into third round with win over Pouille
ameron Norrie has grown accustomed to playing the pantomime villain on Court Suzanne-Lenglen at this yearβs French Open as he beat home opposition for a second successive round on Wednesday.
Against Benoit Paire in the opening round, Norrie had lacked for his usual rhythm on clay amid a fervent backdrop and had to claw a break back in a deciding set for the win.
Facing Paireβs countryman Lucas Pouille, a former top-10 player, he was met with a similar cacophony with a band and the crowd in full voice but it was a relatively straightforward win from start to finish.
There was a solitary moment of controversy when the British No1 appeared to win a point on a double bounce in the third set, which the umpire failed to call, much to the annoyance of both Pouille and the French crowd.
French Open | Roland Garros 2023
Their ire was only amplified when Norrie broke the very next point on his way to a 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 which, in truth, had always looked going his way.
Norrie got off to the best of starts, breaking Pouilleβs opening service game and racing to a 5-0 lead as his shots, with which he struggled to find his range 48 hours earlier, successfully peppered all parts of the court.
With the win, he edged ever closer to a fourth-round meeting with tournament favourite Carlos Alcaraz, who suffered a mini blip against Taro Daniel, dropping the second set in a 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 win.
Norrie, who admitted he struggled to get over the line as Pouille fought back in the latter part of the match, now faces either Lorenzo Musetti, the No17 seed, or else Russian Alexander Shevchenko.
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