Cameron Norrie loses thriller to Alexander Zverev to dash British Aus Open hopes
Cameron Norrie suffered an agonising defeat in the Australian Open quarter-finals as No6 seed Alexander Zverev held his nerve in a fifth-set tie-break.
The British No1 lost 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 on the Margaret Court Arena as the upset he craved failed to materialise against the 6ft 6in German. Norrie showed remarkable mental strength to twice come from behind and take it to a deciding final set.
The left-hander saved three break points in the seventh game of the deciding set and again showed his gritty determination to recover from 0-30 in the 11th game. But Zverev's near-faultless serving sent the match into a tie-break and he dominated to close it out 10-3 to book his place in the quarter-finals.
Zverev, who faces a trial over accusations of physical abuse against an ex-girlfriend, is an Olympic gold medallist and his dominance on first serve proved key against Norrie.
With Andy Murray and Dan Evans falling in the first round and Jack Draper out in the second, Norrie was the last remaining British hope in the men's singles, while Emma Raducanu, Jodie Burrage and Katie Boulter also failed to make an impact on the Grand Slam.
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The left-hander came into the match full of confidence after wins over Juan Pablo Varillas, Giulio Zeppieri and Casper Ruud - a victory he described as one of his best - in the previous rounds. The ultra-competitive seesawing nature of the match was established right from the off, with neither player able to pull away.
The match was interrupted in the third set when a protester threw paper onto the court (Julian Finney/Getty Images)Zverev took the opening set but Norrie was not deterred, fighting back straight away to level things in the second. The gripping action was halted briefly in the third set by a pro-Palestine protestor, who managed to throw pieces of paper onto the court before being ushered out by spectators.
Norrie did not let the interruption distract him, but was already 4-1 down in the set by that point and looked on the brink when the giant German took the third set. But once again Norrie fought back admirably, showing some brilliant touch as well as brutal power, managing to produce some pinpoint lobbed winners, despite his opponent’s height.
The 28-year-old only needed one breakpoint to clinch the fourth set and send the match into a decider in Melbourne. Norrie held his nerve with some gutsy service games to take it to a tie-break, but couldn't sustain it.
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