Cameron Norrie made the most of his second chance in the Italian Open draw, booking his spot in round two with a convincing victory. The British No. 3 was given a spot in the main draw as a lucky loser hours after losing his final qualifying match on Tuesday, and he made the most of it, beating Australia’s Christopher O’Connell 6-3 6-2.
After the 76-minute match, Norrie reflected on his run on Sky Sports and admitted he was “p***ed off” when he suffered defeat in qualifying. But the world No. 91 channelled his anger into his first-round match and he’s now been rewarded with a showdown with Daniil Medvedev.
A former top-10 player, Norrie’s ranking has slipped in recent months and the Brit has now been forced to come through the qualifying rounds to enter big tournaments. But he faced disappointment on Tuesday when he lost to Laslo Djere in three sets.
The former world No. 8 still got into the main draw when some other players pulled out, coming up against O’Connell in the first round just a day after losing to Djere.
It was a dream turnaround for Norrie, who hit just 12 unforced errors and dropped five games as he sealed victory.
After the match, Norrie appeared on Sky Sports, explaining just how frustrating his qualifying defeat had been.
“I think yesterday I lost a match where I really didn’t play well and I was so p***ed off after the match. I was completely devastated, I couldn’t believe it, I had been playing so well,” the 29-year-old said.
“Then I found out a couple of hours later I got the lucky loser. I was like, ‘Okay, I’m going to put that anger into the match today and use the energy for my advantage’.
“I was sharp, I didn’t give him much and I played some physical tennis. I was really stingy in my service games. I was just really happy I turned that energy around.”
While coming through qualifying and being a lucky loser is new territory for Norrie, the Brit is feeling the benefits of having some extra matches under his belt.
He added: “It’s not easy to practice in this tournament being directly in the main draw. I had a couple of practice matches, I played on this court the other day so I think that helped me.
“I’ve been enjoying it. I’m enjoying my tennis a lot, I’m enjoying the practice, I’m enjoying the matches. I obviously didn’t enjoy my performance yesterday but I turned it around today.
“Nice to have another chance, not often you have that, to get some revenge the next day. I was really happy to be on the schedule today and I proved it.”
Norrie will now face 10th seed Medvedev, a man he has never beaten in three meetings. “It’s a really tough match,” he said of their upcoming clash.
“Daniil has absolutely killed me every time we’ve played but I want to really embrace the match and go in playing my game. I think I’ve tried to play a little bit different and tried to mix things up [in the past] and that’s when he gets you.
“I want to just play my game, I’m gonna have to run for fourto have a chance with him, if not then I’m probably going to lose the match. I’m going to have to work hard on that match for sure. Got a day to enjoy and practice and rest and then get ready for the next one.”