Cameron Norrie in the first round of Wimbledon 2018
Cameron Norrie in the first round of Wimbledon 2018 | (DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images)

Cameron Norrie heads into Atlanta second round

By Jake Davies

  • Cameron Norrie defeats Malek Jaziri 7-5, 6-0
  • Cameron Norrie vs Jeremy Chardy
ATLANTA, USA – The British No. 2 Cameron Norrie started off his US Hard Court campaign with a hard-fought victory over Malek Jaziri, and faces Jeremy Chardy next.

 

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Cameron Norrie def. Malek Jaziri 7-5, 6-0

Cameron Norrie progressed to the second round of the hard court event in Atlanta as he came through in straight sets against Tunisia’s Malek Jaziri.

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Norrie started slowly, not really timing his groundstrokes as well as he could. He appeared to have lost confidence behind his serve and he quickly fell down 3-1 in the opening set to a Tunisian opponent who was not really missing a great deal from the baseline.

The upside to Jaziri’s game was there for all to see as he served for the opening set and even held a set point on the Norrie serve in the ninth game of the set, but got punished for the lack of ruthlessness behind the big points and that is exactly what happened in this contest.

Norrie looked rather rejuvenated when he came through the tough moments and once again it was another performance where we saw the Brit dig deep when his back was against the wall. We have witnessed the British No. 2 come from behind in Davis Cup and perform great in difficult situations, which was evident in his first Roland Garros showing, but Norrie really took control of this match-up when he took the lead in the scoreline.

Norrie ultimately went on to win all of the next ten games and handed a bagel set to Jaziri in the second set as the Tunisian lost all control on his forehand side. It was the weapon that supported him in getting the lead, but that shot can quickly go off when he loses confidence and that seemed to be the case against Norrie.

 

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Cameron Norrie vs Jeremy Chardy H2H: First meeting

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Norrie now goes on to face France’s Jeremy Chardy in the second round of Atlanta. Chardy is an aggressive baseliner that really tries to dominate with his forehand side. that shot is stronger than his backhand side and he often tries to run around his weaker backhand to dictate the tempo of a match with forehands from the baseline.

Chardy’s results have always been rather hit-or-miss over the years, but he had an absolutely fantastic grass-court season just a couple of months ago. During the grass-court swing, Chardy won the Surbiton Challenger and also lost to compatriot Richard Gasquet in the ‘s-Hertogenbosch final.

The big problem for Chardy has always been the mental side of things. He has the weapons to achieve big things on a tennis court and has achieved things of note, but he has never really kicked on to the extent of capitalising on the talent he has and that is largely why he has never quite broke into the world Top 20.

It is a similar match for Norrie as the first round opponent in the sense that Chardy can threaten and will threaten, but the inconsistencies in his groundstrokes will allow room for opportunity for Norrie to navigate his way through the match. Norrie’s left-handed serve going into the weaker Chardy backhand is going to be a shot that simply has to work well in order to get the win.

Prediction: Chardy in three sets

Norrie and Chardy are scheduled on Stadium Court, not before 3pm (8pm BST).