By Betsefy
Cameron Norrie‘s run in the US Open came to an end in the fourth round at the hands of Andrey Rublev in straight sets at the Louis Armstrong Stadium.
The British number one had already posted his best finish at Flushing Meadows, but a catalogue of errors ended his hopes of another major challenge as he lost 4-6 4-6 4-6.
Norrie double-faulted on the very first point of the contest – a sign of things to come in the early exchanges – and the errors on the backhand started to creep in for the British number one.
Despite a lengthy rally taking it out of him a few moments prior, Rublev broke for the first time in the ninth game to hand himself the opportunity to serve for the first set, which he gratefully took.
Norrie posted twice as many unforced errors as his counterpart in the first set, and he quickly went a set and a break down courtesy of an uncharacteristically poor forehand before the roof drama unfolded.
Ominous clouds began to appear over the Louis Armstrong Stadium, which led to Rublev going off the court in the expectation that the roof would be closed, but it was not shut for another two games.
Both players were out of action for over 15 minutes while the roof was shut and the court wiped dry before Norrie managed to serve to stay in the second set, and there was a slight glimmer of hope for the Wimbledon semi-finalist when Rublev netted on set point.
However, Norrie’s error-strewn performance showed no signs of ending, and another mishit gave Rublev the point he needed to move one set away from another Grand Slam quarter-final appearance.
© Reuters
History repeated itself for an increasingly frustrated Norrie, who was broken in the fifth game of the third set after whacking a forehand into the net at close range.
Spectators have become accustomed to seeing a cool, calm and collected Norrie, but in a turn of events that even surprised Rublev, the 27-year-old smashed his racquet on the court as the match slipped further away from him.
For a short while, letting out that anger appeared to galvanise Norrie, who looked more like his old self and even managed to earn a break of his own for the first time in the match.
The Brit followed that up with a hold in fortuitous circumstances as his overhead smash clipped the tape before trickling over to Rublev’s side, and he flinched as the Russian smashed the ball into the net after losing the point.
Norrie’s fightback did not last for long, though, as Rublev rediscovered his golden touch to bring up three match points, but not before almost taking Norrie out with a powerful effort that forced the British number one to duck out of the way.
Rublev squandered one match point, but a Norrie slice into the net sealed a comprehensive win for the ninth seed, who will meet either Frances Tiafoe or Rafael Nadal in the last eight.
Norrie’s elimination means that Great Britain have no more players left in the singles events of the US Open, but Neal Skupski and Lloyd Glasspool are still alive in the doubles with their respective partners Wesley Koolhof and Harri Heliovaara.
