Cameron Norrie struggles in heat during straight-sets loss at Cincinnati Open
Norrie recently beat the world number 53 in four sets at Wimbledon, with his first-round win sparking a run to the quarter-finals at the All England Club.
As the 32nd seed in Ohio, Norrie had a first-round bye before meeting the 37-year-old Spaniard, but with the temperature passing 30C, he seemed to struggle in the heat on the way to a 6-4 6-3 defeat.
Norrie's last outing came at the Canadian Open, where he was beaten by world number 99 Aleksandar Vukic in the second round.
He continued his US Open preparations in Cincinnati and Bautista Agut did well to hold his serve following three lengthy games, while breaking Norrie's in the fourth game.
When serving at 5-2 down, Norrie was visibly drenched in sweat and changed his shirt prior to deuce before staving off two set points.
The 29-year-old then broke back to make it 5-4 - from his sixth break point - but served a double fault in the following game, allowing Bautista Agut to clinch the first set.
Norrie continued to look unwell during the second but remained competitive, saving five match points to cut his deficit to 5-3, despite serving three double faults.
But Bautista Agut, playing just his second match since Wimbledon, made no mistake on his second match point in the following game.
After Montreal, this is the second straight tournament Norrie has fallen at his first hurdle and he has lost three of his five matches since his run at SW19 was halted by world number two Carlos Alcaraz,
according to a BBC news.
Spain's Alcaraz, who was denied a third straight Wimbledon title in the final by Jannik Sinner, later endured a tricky start to his Cincinnati campaign against world number 56 Damir Dzumhur.
The 22-year-old, who has reached the final at his last six tournaments, overcame a mid-match slump to beat his Bosnian opponent 6-1 2-6 6-3. He will face Serb Hamad Medjedovic next.
But there was a surprising early exit for 12th seed and 2019 champion Daniil Medvedev as he was beaten 6-7 (0-7) 6-4 6-1 by Australian world number 85 Adam Walton, who recorded his first win over a top-50 opponent.
Sixth seed Alex de Minaur also exited on Sunday, with the Australian losing 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 to American Reilly Opelka, the world number 73.
In Cincinnati's WTA draw, world number two Coco Gauff cruised past China's Wang Xinyu 6-3 6-2.
The American will next face Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska, who beat Viktoriya Tomova of Bulgaria 6-4 2-6 6-2.
American fourth seed Jessica Pegula beat Australia's Kimberly Birrell 6-4 6-3, while the seventh seed is also through, with Italy's Jasmine Paolini holding her nerve after two tight sets to beat Maria Sakkari of Greece 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-5).
UNI BM
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Sabalenka survives massive Cincinnati struggle with Raducanu
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka fought through a three-hour battle to hold off an inspired Emma Raducanu 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/5) on Monday and reach the fourth round of the ATP and WTA Cincinnati Open. HT Image The top seed, who won the Cincinnati final a year ago over Jessica Pegula, increased her lead at the top of the WTA Tour match-win statistics as she secured her 49th of the season. But the struggle was real for Sabalenka, who finished with two aces in the closing stages. "I'm happy to get through this difficult match," Sabalenka said. "I just hope tomorrow is a day off. I need time to recover from such a great battle." Raducanu put up a huge fight, matching Sabalenka throughout. The British number one survived a 25-minute eighth game of the final set, which went to 13 deuces, with Raducanu saving four break points before finally holding for 4-all and eventually into a tiebreaker. But Sabalenka squeezed out victory with a sixth ace for 5-4 in the breaker and delivered her seventh on second match point to bring the battle to a close after three hours and nine minutes. "It was all about momentum," Sabalenka said. "I took some risks at the end, went for crazy shots, went to the net. "A risky game from me helped to put a lot of pressure on her," she said of an opponent whom she hugged warmly at the net. Sabalenka is bidding for her 10th trophy at the 1000 level and second this season after winning at Madrid. In other third-round results at the last major tuneup prior to the US Open, Ekaterina Alexandrova defeated Australian Maya Joint 6-4, 6-3. Sorana Cirstea defeated Yuan Yue 6-7 (2/7), 6-4, 6-4 and will next play third seed Iga Swiatek, who got a walkover into the round of 16. Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, a quarter-finalist this month in Montreal, made further hard court progress with a 6-4, 6-1 thrashing of American wild card Taylor Townsend. Her next opponent will be Sabalenka on Wednesday. In the men's draw, seventh seed Holger Rune, a semi-finalist here a year ago, won his 99th career match on cement, ending the hopes of Alex Michelsen 7-6 (7/4), 6-3. Felix Auger-Aliassime got a win for Canada, advancing 7-6 (7/4), 4-2 when French opponent Arthur Rinderknech retired with apparent heat illness after two gruelling hours on court. American Frances Tiafoe advanced past Ugo Humbert of France 6-4, 6-4 in 82 minutes. str/js
United News of India
2 hours ago
- United News of India
Switzerland wins mixed 580kg tug of war at The World Games 2025
Chengdu, Aug 11 (UNI) Switzerland claimed the mixed 580kg tug of war title at The World Games 2025 in Chengdu today. In the round-robin qualifying rounds, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany and Italy secured the top four spots to advance to the semifinals, where Switzerland defeated Italy and Belgium overcame Germany to set up a gold-medal showdown. In the final, Switzerland maintained its excellent form, securing a 3-0 victory over Belgium. In the bronze medal match, Germany beat Italy 3-0. "The opponents are very strong, and we are thrilled to win the championship," said Elena Beier of Switzerland, who had also won a silver with her team in the women's 500kg event. UNI/XINHUA BM
New Indian Express
4 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Rangdajied fight back but NorthEast United salvage draw in Group E finale
Rangdajied United FC came from a goal down to lead defending champions NorthEast United FC, only for the Highlanders to rescue a point in a 2-2 draw in their final Group E match of the 134th Indian Oil Durand Cup, here at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Bekey Oram's early penalty was cancelled out by Manbhakupar Iawphniaw, before Danzel Umdor put Rangdajied ahead just before halftime. A well-worked Jairo strike in the second half ensured NEUFC remained unbeaten heading into the quarterfinals, while Rangdajied signed off their campaign with a spirited display and their first point of the tournament. Having already secured a quarterfinal berth, NEUFC head coach Juan Pedro Benali made sweeping changes to his lineup, rotating ten players and retaining only Jose Nunez in midfield in a 4-3-3 formation. Parthib Gogoi led the attack in the absence of in-form striker Alaaeddine Ajaraie, flanked by Thoi Singh and Spaniard Jairo. RUFC head coach Aiborlang Khongjee also rang the changes after their defeat to Malaysian Armed Forces, bringing in six new faces and setting up in a similar 4-3-3. Manbhakupar spearheaded the attack with Everson and Pasborlang on the wings, while skipper Balamlynti operated from full-back and Meshan Sumer took his place between the posts. The match began cautiously, but NEUFC soon tested Rangdajied's defence. In the 6th minute, Nunez's curling free kick was safely gathered by Sumer. The Highlanders probed regularly but were wasteful in the final third, while Rangdajied struggled to penetrate beyond midfield.
