By Tony Fairbairn
- Andrey Rublev [9] def Cameron Norrie [7] 6-4 6-4 6-4
NEW YORK, USA – Cameron Norrie admitted he was too relaxed in his US Open defeat to Andrey Rublev which saw him miss out on a place in the quarter-finals.
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Andrey Rublev [9] def Cameron Norrie [7] 6-4 6-4 6-4
Cameron Norrie produced a disappointing performance as he was knocked out of the US Open by Andrey Rublev. Both players produced lightening quick starts on serve with high-quality shot-making being displayed with consistency being shown on serve in both attack and defence. The first seven games took 20 minutes with Norrie taking a 4-3 advantage into the change of ends but that advantage would be short lived.
That’s because Norrie couldn’t take his chances in the eighth game to seal a crucial break of serve with Rublev producing high-quality serving on big points. That would be a significant moment in the match as Rublev went up a level while Norrie was beginning to look a bit flat as his tennis began to deteriorate. That didn’t bother Rublev as he continued to use his power to force the issue as he sealed the break for 5-4 and comfortably served out the opening set.
It was clear Norrie was fatigued and flat as he didn’t produce the same physicality to wear down his opponents as the Russian continued to be consistently aggressive. Another break in the third game saw the Brit in real trouble as he had to conjure up something special.
Not even a 40 minute break due to weather-related drama could stop Rublev’s momentum as Norrie failed to produce any sort of resistance on return. The Brit did get to 0-30 when Rublev served for a two set lead but four world-class points from the ninth seed saw him fend off the late storm as Norrie had a mountain to climb if he wanted to reach the last eight in New York.
The flatness continued at the start of the third set with Norrie just about holding on to his opening two service games. However he couldn’t hold onto his third service game as more unforced errors from the Brit saw him a break down in the third set at 3-2.
What followed was a rare sighting from the Brit as he smashed his racket, clearly being frustrated with his performance in this contest so far. It seemed to help though as Norrie seemed to burst into life and with it the crowd as he produced by far the best game of the match as he broke back for 3-3 with belief on his side that he could produce a comeback.
The seventh seed followed it up with a lucky smash net cord as the Brit took a 4-3 lead and now it was Rublev who needed to produce some spectacular tennis. Produce that he did as a love service hold was followed up by a stunning backhand cross-court winner as Norrie was left helpless with the Russian now serving for the match.
Just like the rest of the contest, Rublev made no mistake as he comfortably sealed a place in the quarter-final with a spectacular performance over an underwhelming and flat Norrie.
Norrie hoping to learn from relaxed behaviour
It was clearly a disappointing defeat from Norrie who was looking to reach his second consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final.
Speaking after the match Norrie claimed he was a bit too relaxed and wanted a bit more energy from his performance, “I felt I was just too kind of chill in between points,” Norrie told The Telegraph.
“I wasn’t getting up [to emote] with my team and using them to my advantage. It can happen. I felt like Rublev was the better player, and he really didn’t give me a chance, whenever I did have momentum, to get back in the match. He was very solid.”
Norrie also spoke about the one time he did get pumped up and energised was when he smashed his racket on the ground.
The Brit said there is something to learn from that and admitted he can get too chilled when on court, “I felt maybe the one time I did have a chance was when I ended up throwing my racket,” Norrie noticed.
“I ended up getting a bit more energy and moving a lot better for the next 20 minutes. That was probably the best part of the match for me, the only game where I had chances really to break. I felt like I was able to release a little bit. Obviously it’s not ideal to be breaking rackets. I very rarely do it, so I was able to snap and change my energy and really lift after that.
“There is maybe something interesting to learn from that. Maybe I can kind of – maybe not continue to break rackets – but do something different to change the energy when I feel like too relaxed and too chill on the court. I was not really moving as well as I would like and missing second-serve returns uncharacteristically.”
Norrie will hope to take those learning experiences into the rest of the season including the Davis Cup which starts next week.
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