Cameron Norrie secured his first career victory over Andy Murray as he battled from a set down to edge the all-British clash at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. Murray had won their only previous meeting in 2019 and although Norrie came into the match the favourite following his run to the Wimbledon semi-finals, the 35-year-old looked superior after recovering from an opening break to take the first set.
Murray missed a chance to break Norrie early in the second after putting a volley at the net wide and the British No 1 began to take back control of the rallies. Norrie took his break point opportunities while Murray continued to pass up chances, leading to the deciding set where physicality proved decisive. Murray struggled with muscle cramps late in the third set while Norrie, one of the fittest players in the tour, continued to improve. Norrie broke Murray late in the third before serving out to take a 3-6 6-3 6-4 win in other two and a half hours.
“There was not much in it,” Norrie said after becoming the third British man after Tim Henman and Kyle Edmund to defeat Murray. “I think it came down to physicality. It didn’t help him that his match with Stan went long and in the end I just tried to keep it in play. It’s a massive win for me, beating Andy for the first time. It’s not the way I wanted to beat him but it’s nice to do it anyway.”
