Cam Norrie produced a remarkable fightback on the first day of the US Open, coming back from two sets down and saving two points in a dramatic fifth set on his way to knocking out ninth seed Diego Schwartzman.
Norrie, the British No. 3, looked down and out when two sets down but roared back in the third and fourth sets to take it into a decider.
He was three times a break down in the fifth set and saved two match points before a knackered Schwartzman finally succumbed to a 3-6 4-6 6-2 6-1 7-5 defeat.
It was comfortably Norrie’s best win at a Slam by ranking. Before beating world No. 13 Schwartzman on Monday, his previous best result came against Germany’s then world No. 43 Peter Gojowcyzk at the 2017 French Open.
‘I’m pretty tired actually,’ Norrie told Amazon Prime after his four-hour win. ‘Honestly for me the tennis and the level wasn’t that great but I had a really good attitude throughout. I was happy with that.
‘I was lucky to get through that one, saved a couple of match points at the end. It was a tough one.’
The pair had a combined 58 break points between them – a US Open record.
‘I’m not sure if that’s a good stat to have,’ smiled Norrie. ‘In the first couple of sets I missed so many second serve returns on the ad side when I had break points.
‘I was getting frustrated but I stayed patient and managed to convert way more at the end. 58 is a lot.’
He added: ‘The first two sets I was rushing everything, going for too much. I was waking too many errors. He’d done almost nothing to be two sets up, he’d been really solid and he’s played pretty solid from the ground.
‘I said I’m going to hit down the middle for a couple of games and get some rhythm and then I was up a break and literally I just kept the momentum going and kept building and building.
‘I struggled a little at the start of the fifth but I bakced myself physically and he was struggling at the end.’
Jamie Murray and Dom Inglot were among the players watching in the stands and Norrie admitted his opponent did not seem to appreciate their support.
‘It was really nice to have Jamie and Dom and all the British guys up there watching,’ said Norrie.
‘Schwartzman was getting a little bit upset at them cheering a little bit but it was good to have that support.
‘I think the whole Battle of the Brits thing, everyone was getting around that so I think that helps a lot. That was good to get over the line today.’
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