Rafael Nadal stays on course for a 14th French Open title and record 21st Grand Slam after defeating resilient Briton Cam Norrie in the third-round on Saturday; Norrie's run in Paris should help him break into the top 40 for the first time in his career
Saturday 5 June 2021 21:06, UK
British singles hopes at this year's French Open came to an end on Saturday as last man standing Cam Norrie saw his run ended by Rafael Nadal.
In the third meeting of the season between the pair, Norrie once again acquitted himself very well against the great Spaniard on clay, but the outcome was the same as in Australia and Barcelona, with Nadal coming out victorious.
The world No 3, who is chasing a record-extending 14th title at Roland Garros, sealed a 6-3 6-3 6-3 win to set up an intriguing fourth-round clash against young Italian prospect Jannik Sinner.
Nadal moved to an incredible 103-2 at Roland Garros as well as extending his streak of consecutive sets won at Roland Garros to 32 as he chases more glory on the Parisian clay.
Norrie came into this year's Slam having been on impressive runs to the finals of clay-court events in Estoril and Lyon, and headed into his match with Nadal calling it the toughest challenge in sport.
He gave it a good go but only had nine games to show for his efforts as the Spaniard reached the fourth round for the 50th time at a Grand Slam.
"It was a wonderful experience playing against him, and I thought I played great," said 25-year-old Norrie. "I don't think I took enough risks. All in all, I think it was a great experience.
"Enjoyed it. A great experience. And let's move on to the grass and get ready for some more tennis."
Norrie is excited about playing on the grass where he is scheduled to appear at Queen's Club before the start of Wimbledon on Monday, June 28.
"It's going to be tricky going from the clay to the grass, so get back to London and prepare as much as I can," he said. "I can't wait for being back and playing in front of some home crowd and getting some support."
Nadal will next face Sinner for the second year in a row at Roland Garros after beating him in the quarter-finals last year.
Sinner racked up 44 winners to charge into the fourth round with a 6-1 7-5 6-3 victory over Sweden's Mikael Ymer.
Sinner, seeded 18th, had too much poise and power for Ymer as he joined fellow Italian teenager Lorenzo Musetti in the last 16.
Nadal is wary of Sinner, saying: "He's young. He's improving every week. He has big shots. It's going to be a tough one. I need to be solid. I need to be aggressive, too, because if not it's very difficult. I need to make him play from tough positions, and I can't make a lot of mistakes.
"He's a great player. We know each other well. So let's see."
In the men's doubles, Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares were dumped out of the tournament after a 6-3 3-6 6-3 defeat to Kevin Krawietz and Horia Tecau.
In the men's wheelchair singles semi-finals, defending champion Alfie Hewett trailed 5-1 in the deciding set and then faced three match points in the tie-break only to pull off a 1-6 7-5 7-6 (8-6) victory against Gustavo Fernandez.
"I'll never forget this. I think for me this was the match of my life. So far," said the 23-year-old Norfolk athlete.
In the final, he will take on Japanese top seed Shingo Kunieda, who also came from a set down in a 5-7 6-0 6-4 victory over Stephane Houdet.
Not content with one dramatic comeback, Hewett then teamed up with Gordon Reid for a 2-6 6-2 10-8 victory over Fernandez and Kunieda in the semi-finals of the doubles.
Hewett and Reid are bidding for a sixth consecutive Grand Slam doubles title, and they will meet Houdet and Nicolas Peifer in the final.
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