Cam Norrie into French Open third round with straight sets victory over Federico Gomez - where he could face a fellow Brit

Daily Mail​

5 days ago

The renaissance of Cam Norrie continued as the British No3 swept into the third round of the French Open.
Having escaped from a tight opening set against world No144 Federico Gomez, Norrie assumed full control to win 7-6, 6-2, 6-1.
The 29-year-old arrived in the second round via a monumental, four-hour upset of No11 seed Daniil Medvedev.
He was a massive underdog for that match, given he had not taken a single set off the Russian in four previous meetings, but the outlook was very different against Gomez.
The Argentine world No144 only snuck into the draw as a lucky loser after Emil Ruusuvori withdrew, so Norrie looked a decent favourite - not that he was having any of it.
'Nothing changes,' he said after the Medvedev win. 'Different challenge, same level, same mindset.'
It certainly was a different challenge: instead of the rake-thin Medvedev came Gomez, a hulking specimen built more on the lines of a Pumas flanker than a tennis player.
But he subsequently hit his stride to win in straight sets and ease into the third round
If Norrie's first-round win was a tale of perseverance rewarded, he had nothing on Gomez. The 28-year-old Argentine played college tennis in the US, then toiled around on the lower reaches of the tennis circuit for years without a breakthrough.
In March of this year he posted on Instagram, describing his thought of quitting the sport and even suicide.
Days after that post, Novak Djokovic reached out to Gomez, inviting him to practice with him in Miami.
They had another session together here in Paris; the Serb's many ill-informed detractors would do well to realise that such acts of kindness towards his fellow professionals are characteristic.
Gomez's first-round win here - on his Grand Slam debut - was a demonstration of the power of a kind gesture.
It was also a reminder of the vast sea of largely unknown talent to be found beneath tennis's top level.
Gomez is a damn fine player, with huge power on the serve and forehand. His backhand was a little vulnerable, though, and he was liable to break down in the longer rallies.
An ideal opponent for Norrie, then, who could just stick to his metronomic, high-margin tennis and wait for his man to crack.
Gomez hit far more winners - 39 to 22 - but made far more errors, too, 56 to 22.
Norrie needed seven set points to take the opener but his higher class told eventually.
From there he assumed full control of the match and is into the third round of the French Open for a fourth time in the last five years.
He was awaiting the winner of last night's match between his countryman - and fellow Texas Christian University grad - Jacob Fearnley, and French No2 Ugo Humbert.