Cam Norrie's French Open run ends after Novak Djokovic thumps Brit in straight sets to set up mouth-watering quarter-final after 100th Roland Garros win
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- Novak Djokovic thrashes Britain's Cam Norrie for his 100th win at Roland Garros
- The 38-year-old will now take on No 3 seed Alexander Zverev in the last eight
It turns out 7/10 tennis does not cut it against the greatest player of all time.
Cam Norrie’s superb run at the French Open was ended in the fourth round by Novak Djokovic, to the tune of 6-2, 6-3, 6-2. For the Serb, a 100th match win here in Paris to set up what promises to be an epic quarter-final against No 3 seed Alexander Zverev.
For Norrie, a deeply disappointing, anti-climactic end to the fortnight. For a warrior like him, to win just seven games will hurt.
Before this match, Norrie assessed his own form as ‘Vintage Norrie: 7/10 tennis.’ He knew that would not cut the Dijon against Djokovic, though, and as is often the case in sport, in striving for 9/10 he ended up closer to a five.
It is six defeats from six now against Djokovic: he simply does not have the weapons to pierce his defences. Mind you, we said that about his match-up with Daniil Medvedev, and Norrie got a first ever win against him in the opening round — maybe he’ll get the old master eventually.
Djokovic beat Norrie in Geneva en route to his 100th career title last month; will this latest win be a stepping stone to the big one, Grand Slam title No25? Zverev, who advanced via the second-set retirement of Tallon Griekspoor, will have something to say about that, but Djokovic has not lost a match here since 2022 — a knee injury ending his participation last year.
These two have broadly similar approaches and the result was not the most free-flowing tennis. Both are natural counterpunchers, happier allowing the opponent to make mistakes rather than striking out themselves.
Early in the match, then, there was an element of feeling each other out.
Djokovic was content to stroke the ball around and use the drop shot as his main - almost his only — offensive weapon.
After five games he had hit one winner and six drop shots.
At 5-2, Djokovic received some treatment to the blistered feet which have been bothering him this fortnight.
And he did seems to be moving more gingerly as he made an error-strewn beginning to the second set, donating an early break.
This was Norrie’s opening. His greatest attribute is his fitness, developed by competing in cross-country as a schoolboy in New Zealand, honed by running the hills of Auckland with his Welsh mum in lockdown.
If he could drag a near 40-year-old man with blistered feet into a purely physical battle, surely he had a chance.
Djokovic could sense this, of course - on a tennis court he is all knowing, all seeing - and he ramped up the aggression, shortening the points. Freeing up his arms, he struck 15 winners in the set compared to just four in the first.
At 3-4 it was Norrie’s turn to receive pedestrian attention, and it looked a little more serious than blisters, as the physio stretched out his left foot.
His movement did not look especially hampered, but whatever the reason he faded badly thereafter.
A sad end to what may yet turn out to be a transformational tournament for Norrie. After a horrible 2024, at the age of 29, he needed a run like this very badly indeed. If he can carry this form into the British summer, then a summer of the Indian variety could result.
