Cameron Norrie’s run at the Australian Open is over, thus seeing the last Brit standing exit the competition.
It marked a spirited tournament from the 30-year-old, who overcame great adversity in his first two rounds, including a five-set thriller in his opening match.
However, tasked with toppling Alexander Zverev proved a step too far, with the German coming through in four sets.
Cam Norrie should depart Melbourne with his head held high, once again only knocked out of another Grand Slam by a top seed.
Zverev was hugely complimentary about the former British number one in his post-match on-court interview.
Alexander Zverev reacts after beating Cam Norrie
The world number three, and last year’s finalist at the Australian Open, was first asked whether he was happy with his performance.
“Yeah, why not?” He began. “Well, to be honest, uh, the last two matches, I thought they were fantastic matches. Both opponents challenged me, but they challenged me because they were playing really good tennis. And I was up for the task today.
Who has impressed you most so far at the Australian Open?
“Cameron, I thought I probably played the best match that we’ve ever played, just level-wise. And yeah, happy with the win and happy to move forward.”
Zverev was then tasked with picking out what he was most proud of within his performance, adding: “Yeah. I actually thought I was serving bad.
“No, I thought I was hitting my forehand quite big and quite well, so moving forward, I think that’s the shot that’s gonna make me win or make me lose. And if I’m hitting it that way and if I feel confident in that shot, it’s always very important.”
This was Norrie’s seventh straight defeat to Zverev.
Cam Norrie’s exceptional record at Grand Slams
It was another raucous atmosphere on the John Cain Arena, with Norrie once again well-supported by his fans in Australia.
And, despite losing in the third round, this marks yet another run to be proud of, where he has once again only been beaten by an elite-level opponent.
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Around this time last year, Norrie suffered a first-round exit to Matteo Berrettini.
However, this proved to be the catalyst that kickstarted a stunning run of major performances, beaten by Novak Djokovic in the fourth round of the French Open, Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon, and Djokovic again in the third round of the US Open.
Hopefully he can maintain this trend throughout the coming year and challenge for a spot around the world’s top ten again.
