LONDON: ninth seed Cameron Norrie kept the British flag flying at Wimbledon Sunday by qualifying for its first Grand Slam quarter-final with a 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 victory over American Tommy Paul.
Southpaw Norrie is the only surviving local prospect at the grass major and for a place in Friday’s semi-final he will meet the Belgian David Goffinwho had previously edged out the 23rd American seed Frances Tiafoe 7-6(3), 5-7, 5-7, 6-4, 7-5.
Paul, seeded 30th, had beaten a left-handed player in each of his previous three rounds, but had failed to find solutions to infringe Norrie’s precise delivery and tame his opponent’s precise forehand in an atmosphere frantic on Court One.
Norrie broke Paul’s delivery in game one to take the lead, then saved four breakpoints on his own serve in game six to keep his nose in front and take the opening set.
Spinning his racquet from hand to hand while receiving the serve, the 25-year-old American couldn’t find a way to detract from Norrie’s delivery, but looked more aggressive overall in s approaching the net more often.
But Norrie’s expansive forehand was up to the challenge and a clean return from Paul gave him a break of serve in the third game of the second set. Paul again had two chances to recover the set on serve, but the Briton saved both for a 4-2 lead.
With Norrie serving at 5-4, the American finally managed to convert a break point, only to be immediately broken and regain the lead, much to the delight of the home crowd.
The third set followed a similar pattern with Norrie again earning an early serve break in game three and the 26-year-old converted his first match point when Paul fired a forehand wide.
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