Cameron Norrie showcased resilience as he overcame illness and a match point against him to triumph over Spain’s rising star Martin Landaluce in the Madrid Open’s first round. Norrie, who has found himself slipping to 91st in the world rankings after a challenging year, snatched his first ATP Tour match win since March at Indian Wells by pulling off a 6-7 (4) 7-5 6-4 comeback against the 19-year-old.
But he managed the victory in unusual circumstances. He was under the weather during the match and had to tap into his superior experience to seal progression to the next round. Speaking to Sky Sports post-match, Norrie said: “It’s terrible timing but at least I have another day tomorrow to rest. Hopefully it will pass pretty quickly.”
The roller-coaster contest saw Norrie relinquishing five consecutive games after an initial 3-0 lead, then crawling back from a 3-0 deficit in the second set before thwarting a match point with Landaluce’s forehand miss at 4-5.
Capitalising on the chance, Norrie rallied to push through to the final set, where he finally edged out his youthful challenger. Norris added: “It’s maybe one of my favourite wins. I was feeling absolutely terrible, I wasn’t sure I was going to play, I had no energy, didn’t sleep at all last night.
“I started very low energy, sleeping on the court still. I had to create my own energy. He actually played really well, I know he’s a really good player, so I had to fight every point.”
He is now setting sights on his next opponent, 26th-seeded Jiri Lehecka. The withdrawal of second seed Carlos Alcaraz has left a gap in Norrie’s section of the draw. Alcaraz, who sought treatment for a leg injury during his Barcelona Open final loss to Holger Rune, was unable to recover in time for Madrid.
Expressing his regret at a press conference, he said: “I’m really disappointed that I’m not able to play here in Madrid, it’s a place that I love playing, in front of my people.” It was a really difficult situation, really difficult to decide, but it is what it is.
“You have to hear your body sometimes. I will come back stronger.” Alcaraz is set to defend his French Open title in Paris in just one month.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk