Pain-free Norrie storms back to leave 12th seed Tiafoe sore

At a vital moment of an engrossing second-round match, Cameron Norrie was as much of a spectator as anyone in a partisan crowd on No 1 Court.

- Greg Wood

At a set down, 4-4 and 30-40 in the second, Frances Tiafoe, the No 12 seed, had got a racket to Norrie's second shot and the ball took a slow, looping arc towards the sideline. The American's band of supporters were halfway out of their seats to acclaim a vital break - only to see it land just wide. A relieved Norrie had clawed back to deuce from 0-40 down, and he seized the moment to hold, then break and gradually exert an ever-stronger grip on a match that had briefly threatened to get away from him, as he ran out a four-set winner.

There were definite echoes as he did so of the form and resilience that carried the British No 3 all the way to the semi-finals here three years ago. That run deep into the second week also propelled him to a career-high No 8 ranking, but after an injury-troubled second half of 2024, he had dropped all the way to No 91 in mid-May before a run to the last 16 at the French Open edged him back within sight of the top 50.