Cameron Norrie allayed fears over his wrist injury as he came through the Australian Open first round comfortably with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Juan Pablo Varillas.
Norrie had raised concern over his fitness for Melbourne when he pulled out of the preceding ASB Classic in Auckland citing an issue with his wrist, and he admitted he had no idea how it might hold up.
But the British No1, the 19th seed in the men’s draw, showed little discomfort in a fairly routine win over the Peruvian.
Norrie needs a strong start to 2024 after a difficult latter part of last season in which he struggled for form on court.
He started the first round in slightly tentative fashion but saved break points on his opening service game and got the first telling break in game five.
Varillas was undone by his poor serve as much as anything come back from Norrie on the other side of the net in a match the result of which increasingly became a foregone conclusion.
Norrie now faces Giulio Zeppieri, of Italy, in the second round on Thursday.
