Cameron Norrie overcomes Jacob Fearnley to reach second week of French Open
Norrie secured a likely showdown with Novak Djokovic after a straight-sets win in a surreal match played out to an ear-splitting backdrop of explosions and pyrotechnics.
The din was down to thousands of Paris St Germain fans gathering for the Champions League final outside the Parc des Princes, which is a stone's throw from Court Simonne-Mathieu and was showing the game on a big screen.
Norrie has booked his ticket to the fourth round! 🎟️#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/VvskPUyvRU
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 31, 2025
But Fearnley struggled to produce any fireworks as the more experienced Norrie extended his stay in the French capital into the second week.
It will be Norrie's first appearance at this stage and, with Jack Draper already through, Britain has two men in the fourth round for the first time in French Open history.
Tennis players usually like to play in silence but this end of Paris sounded more like a war zone.
Serving was proving difficult for both men with explosions going off almost every time one of them tossed the ball.
At one point during a crucial second-set tie-break, Norrie had to abort his service motion completely amid a series of loud bangs.
Jacob Fearnley was beaten in straight sets (Lindsey Wasson/AP)
Fearnley may have overtaken Norrie in the world rankings, but the 23-year-old made a nervous start amid the deafening noise.
Norrie was a set and two breaks up before Fearnley, who has only just completed a first full year on the Tour, found his feet and levelled the second set.
But despite the disruption, 29-year-old Norrie held his nerve in the tie-break to move two sets up.
The noise finally subsided, and the crowd shrunk considerably, as kick-off approached leaving Norrie to complete a 6-3 7-6 (1) 6-2 victory in two hours and 43 minutes.
Another historic day on the Parisian clay 🙌
For the first time since 1963, two British men are in the last 16 of @rolandgarros#BackTheBrits 🇬🇧 | #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/1cenwCw4LS
— LTA (@the_LTA) May 31, 2025
'I am happy I played a solid match. It was a great atmosphere,' said Norrie.
'I went through about seven shirts in three sets. I was sweating a lot and had to work really hard for that, so it feels good to get through.
'I think the toughest part was managing the fireworks. That was difficult for both of us.'
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