By Tony Fairbairn
- Cameron Norrie def Roberto Carballes Baena 3-6 6-4 6-3
- Norrie v Luca Van Assche [LL] | H2H: Norrie leads 2-0
METZ, FRANCE – Cameron Norrie earned his first win on the ATP tour for three and a half months after a fiery win over Roberto Carballes Baena to set up a second round clash with lucky loser Luca Van Assche.
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Cameron Norrie def Roberto Carballes Baena 3-6 6-4 6-3
Cameron Norrie claimed his first win on the ATP tour since Bastad in mid-July after a three set win over Roberto Carballes Baena in Metz. The encounter was a tight contest which Norrie came back from a set and a break down to claim victory but ended with the duo participating in a fiery confrontation after the match. It was an encouraging start from Norrie as he worked the forehand to produce early winners and come out of tight service games.
However as has been the case this season some costly unforced errors cost the British number two as he was broken in the sixth game. The aggressive Spaniard has been in some decent form lately and proved that with some consistent shot-making from the baseline. There were no problems on serve for the world number 56, wrapping up the first set in 36 minutes with some big serving.
Things went from bad to worse in the second set for Norrie with Carballes Baena creating some creative patterns of play to expose Norrie’s court positioning. A forehand volley into the net on break point down summed up the Brit’s evening and he now faced a set and a break deficit. There was an immediate response from Norrie though as he played his best tennis with his back against the wall and he broke back to love for 3-3.
As the set went on the rallies got longer with both players entering their most consistent period of the match. Some crucial net play managed to give Norrie some confidence as he looked to be the more proactive player. The risk-taking from Norrie paid off as a forehand winner sealed the crucial break in the tenth game and this match was heading towards a deciding set.
In the final set both players were looking to attack the net and it was Carballes Baena who drew first blood as he broke in the fifth game with Norrie placing a volley into the net. Just like in the second set there was an immediate response from the Brit as he drew the unforced errors from the Spaniard’s game to level the set at 3-3. The momentum was with Norrie as more unforced errors from Carballes Baena saw Norrie with the opportunity to serve for the match.
Norrie served for the match successfully to book a place in the second round but the drama was not finished. That’s because Carballes Baena fiercely confronted the Brit after Norrie said ‘Vamos’ a couple of times in a tense exchange but Norrie won’t care too much as he is into the next round.
Cameron Norrie v Luca Van Assche [LL] H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Cameron Norrie v Luca Van Assche [LL] | H2H: Norrie leads 2-0 |
| ATP Metz 2024 | Metz, France |
| Indoor Hard | Prize Money: €10,165 |
| Third on Court Central (14:30 GMT) | Sky/Now TV <- Subscription Required |
Norrie now faces lucky loser Luca Van Assche after third seed Grigor Dimitrov withdrew from the tournament.
Tale of the Tape – Key Stats (2024)
| H2H: | Cameron Norrie (WR 57) | Luca Van Assche (WR 112) |
| Tournament Previous Best | N/A | Quarter-Final (2023) |
| 1st Serve % | 64.1 | 62.1 |
| Service Games Won % | 81.1 | 78 |
| Break Points Saved % | 64.1 | 59.7 |
| 2nd Serve Return Points Won % | 50.5 | 51.3 |
| Break Points Converted % | 40 | 38.2 |
Norrie will need to be more consistently aggressive against an efficient returner like Van Assche as the Brit found out in his Challenger defeat to the Frenchman a few weeks ago.
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Playing Styles and Prediction
The 20 year-old Frenchman is a raw talent who has had an up and down season but has a lot of potential to be a big star in the future. Now Van Assche has his sights set on the world’s top 100 as he looks to continue to use his big serve to cause problems on the ATP tour, targeting another big week on home soil.
Norrie will need to serve well in order to exploit Van Assche’s poor returning meanwhile the Frenchman will use his aggressive serving and net play to test Norrie’s confidence. This will be a tough test for Norrie and the Frenchman will have no problems in putting Norrie under consistent pressure as both players need the victory here for their confidence.
Prediction: Van Assche in three sets.
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