Cameron Norrie becomes only second British player to beat Rafael Nadal in ATP history
Cameron Norrie produced a statement win over World No. 2 Rafael Nadal at the 2023 United Cup in Sydney on Saturday (December 31). In the process, he became only the second British player after Andy Murray to beat the legendary Spaniard.
Having failed to win a set in the pair's last four meetings, the trend looked set to continue as Nadal grabbed the opener. However, Norrie fought his way back into the contest by taking the second.
Continuing his ascendancy in the contest, Norrie saved a pair of break points before romping home in 2 hours and 45 minutes to reign supreme (3-6, 6-3, 6-4) and bring up his first win over Nadal.
Cameron Norrie becomes only the second British singles player to defeat Rafael Nadal during the Spaniard’s 20 years on the ATP tour (the other is obviously Andy Murray). twitter.com/tennistv/statu…
After beating Australia's Alex de Minaur in his opening match, Norrie is now 2-0 for the season.
Tim Henman's Great Britain will now look to make it 2-0 against Spain when Katie Swan plays Nuria Parrizas Diaz at the Ken Rosewall Arena. Team GB beat Australia 3-2 in their first tie in the brand-new mixed team event.
"I'm feeling great" - Cameron Norrie after beating Alex de Minaur
Cameron Norrie has been on song at the United Cup Down Under. He beat home hope Alex de Minaur in straight sets (6-3, 6-3) on Thursday (December 29) to get Great Britain's campaign underway. Later in the day, Katie Swan beat Zoe Hives to double Team GB's lead before they beat Australia 3-2.
Meanwhile, following his win over Di Minaur, Norrie was understandably pleased with his efforts in a challenging atmosphere. He said:
"I'm feeling great. Especially first match of the year, there's a lot of nerves. No tougher task than to play 'Demon' (Alex de Minaur) in Australia. It was not easy. I ran a lot, I absolutely drenched three shirts. I really enjoyed the atmosphere - and nice to get the win."
The World No. 14 is coming off a fabulous 2022 season, going 49-26 and capturing two titles. After starting his campaign with four straight losses, the left-hander beat Reilly Opelka in the Delray Beach final to win his first title of the year. He also made the final in Acapulco but lost to Nadal in straight sets.
It was out.
Norrie wins the point, and then the next two on Opelka's serve, to prevail 7-6(1), 7-6(4) for the Delray Beach title.
Cameron Norrie then notched up his first career singles title on clay, beating Alex Molcan in three sets in the Lyon final. He also made his first Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon, taking a set off eventual winner Novak Djokovic.