Cam Norrie dumps Daniil Medvedev out of French Open to revive flat-lining career

Telegraph

27-05-2025

Cameron Norrie's flat-lining career was revived by a trip to Court Simonne-Mathieu, the lovely 'greenhouse' stadium at Roland Garros, where he defeated 11th seed Daniil Medvedev amid the vines and creepers of a botanical garden.
Kicking off the Roland Garros main draw with @WeAreWhisperTV on the picturesque Court Simonne-Mathieu. One of the most beautiful settings in the sport. pic.twitter.com/233VYu2Uux
— Mikey Perera (@mikeyperera) May 25, 2025
The metaphors of vitality and regrowth seemed fitting for this flashback of a performance. Here was the relentless, indefatigable Norrie we remember from the early part of this decade – a period when he was a regular member of the top 10 and reached the 2022 Wimbledon semi-final.
A torn bicep sapped his strength last year and, before this win, he had gone 16 months without defeating a top-20 opponent. When he arrived in Paris, and told reporters that 'I'm hitting the ball much better than when I was top 10', we all nodded rather sceptically.
But Norrie was in full bloom on Tuesday as he harried Medvedev into wild-haired bewilderment, using the peculiarities of his two contrasting groundstrokes – a high, spinny forehand and a flat, scudding backhand – to sow doubt and confusion.
Admittedly, Medvedev is himself not the force that moved earth and heaven in that same period half a decade ago, winning the 2021 US Open and reaching five other major finals. He has not claimed a title in more than a year and it showed here, given how many opportunities he wasted in this match.
But Norrie earned his 7-6, 6-3, 4-6, 1-6, 7-5 victory the hard way. Another line from his pre-tournament press conference predicted that 'I'm gonna have to run for four hours to have a chance with him', and that was almost spot on, with the match clock eventually stopping at 3hr 52min.
Cam Norrie has 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐭 as he sees off Daniil Medvedev in the decider to get his biggest win in over a year 🙌 #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/mCRIMJ3VPI
— TNT Sports (@tntsports) May 27, 2025
In four previous meetings, Norrie had never so much as taken a set off Medvedev. He described this as a bad match-up for him, which may be because Medvedev's strengths – stamina, grit and awkwardness – are so similar to his own. They even practise a lot together, as two residents of Monte Carlo, so there is precious little surprise when they go on court.
On the stats sheet, the margins were so small as to be almost invisible, with both men winning 19 service games and losing six. And yet, the momentum ebbed and flowed like the tide. Norrie went on a game-changing run of eight straight games that carried him from an early deficit to a two-set lead, only for Medvedev to reply with seven straight games and force a decider.
Medvedev even served for the win at 5-4 in the fifth, only to tighten up alarmingly and spew four unforced errors in five points. By this stage, he was grunting like a weightlifter on each shot, yet the effort failed to translate into his swings, which kept growing shorter and crabbier. Eventually, one last forehand went sailing long, and Norrie hurled his racket high in the air in triumph.
'He's so tough to beat, I feel like I deserve a diploma,' Norrie said in his on-court interview. His reward will be a juicy-looking second-round meeting with Federico Agustin Gomez, the world No 142. But even by making it this far, he ensured that Great Britain has delivered two first-round wins in both French Open singles draws for the first time since 1979.