The Brit could only record three aces, and committed one double fault. He could not return a single break point.
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Britain’s best hope of having a home-grown player win the Miami Open came crashing on Sunday as 11th seed Cameron Norrie faced a shock defeat against Frenchman Gregoire Barrere. The match was over in an hour and 10 minutes with the score line reading 6-3, 6-2 in the Frenchman’s favour. The Brit could only record three aces, and committed one double fault. He could not return a single break point and his win percentage on the first and second serves were 65% and 38% respectively.
It was indeed a shock result for the Brit who had all the momentum in the world after winning the Rio Open in February where he beat Carlos Alcaraz in the final. Norrie had taken part in the Indian Wells Masters earlier this month where he beat the likes of Andrey Rublev and Taro Daniel, before being ousted in the last eight by home favorite Frances Tiafoe.
Read More – Miami Open 2023: Twitter reacts as Andrey Rublev ousts Miomir Kecmanovic in R2
No one really gave Barrere much of a chance but the Frenchman proved that he belongs in the big leagues with the best players in the world. After breaking Norrie’s serve in the eighth game, Barrere took the court by storm and absolutely outclassed his opponent to book a place in the third round. He will face a tricky test against home favorite Christopher Eubanks next.
Here’s how Twitter reacted to Norrie’s shock exit
Russian tennis player and sixth seed Andrey Rublev stormed into the third round of the 2023 Miami Open with a convincing 6-1, 6-2 win over Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic on Sunday. Rublev recorded an outstanding 12 aces in the match and committed not a single double fault. The Russian registered win percentages of 84% and 57% on the first and second serves respectively. He also returned four out of eight break points, winning eight service games in the process.
The 58-minute match ended with the Russian extending his head to head advantage over Kecmanovic to 2-0. Despite being one of the best players in the world at the moment, Rublev is yet to win a Miami Open title in his career. Coming off the back of a fourth round exit at the Indian Wells earlier this month, the 25-year-old has been chomping at the bit to get his hands on the ATP 1000 crown.
He had faced a tricky test in JJ Wolf in the first round of the competition. The American, who was playing on home soil, started the match on a positive note. However, his momentum was not enough to contend with the superior skill of Rublev, who won 7-6 (7-3), 6-4. “It’s a great feeling, because I didn’t know what to expect and it was my first match here,” said Rublev after his win over Wolf. “I didn’t have much time to adapt. I know he’s dangerous, that he can play really well and really aggressive.”
“As soon as we started to play I was losing, so it was not easy. At the end I was happy that I was able to keep calm inside, and I was just waiting for my moment [in the first set]. As soon as I had the moment I was able to make it, and then I started to play a bit better and I started to feel more confident,” he added.
