Cameron Norrie’s hopes and dreams for glory at the Chengdu Open have gone up in smoke.
The former British number one was stunned on Wednesday in his first match, losing to a player ranked 304 in the world.
Norrie, who recently featured for Great Britain in the Davis Cup, had one match point during the contest, before losing 7-6, 4-6, 6-7.
The British star will be downbeat, but must put this result behind him quickly and focus on his remaining tournaments in 2025.
In contrast, Norrie’s opponent on Wednesday could barely contain his excitement after the shock result.
Yi Zhou stuns Cameron Norrie in China
World number 304 Yi Zhou could barely hold in his feelings of triumph after upsetting Cameron Norrie at the Chengdu Open in China.
After all, the 20-year-old Chinese star, who is a wildcard entry, had just claimed the most significant win of his career so far in front of the Chinese fans.
This was just Zhou’s second ATP Tour-level singles victory in 2025, after his recent win in the Davis Cup.
Speaking on-court to Sky Sports after the victory, Zhou said: “I’ve been waiting for a whole year to come back here. I did it by myself this time and I got this. I’m so happy, I cannot explain, I’m just so happy.”
The Chinese player was then asked to identify how he has improved over the past year.
Zhou added: “Well it’s been a tough year for me. I had to go get some wins and try to keep my points up because this is the first time I got so many points in my life [laughing].
“But I feel like mentally I’ve been improving a lot. I feel like I’m not the same [inaudible] as before. I’ve definitely improved. Maybe that’s why I had the ability to come through today. I’m just so happy.”
Yi Zhou’s unchanged live ranking
Despite defeating Norrie, the Chinese star’s ranking will not shift unless he wins another match at the tournament.
This is because Zhou also won a match at the 2024 Chengdu Open, against Tseng Chun-hsin. Zhou went on to lose in the next round to Frenchman Adrian Mannarino.
By defeating Norrie in 2025, he has reclaimed the points he won last year. As a result, Zhou has remained at 304 in the world, as per the ATP live rankings.
In the next round, Zhou will face either Frenchman Quentin Halys or Australian player Christopher O’Connell
