British challenge over as Norrie loses epic with Zverez at Australian Open
Norrie took sixth seed Zverev the distance in Melbourne.
Cameron Norrie is out of the Australian Open after losing a five-set tussle with sixth seed Alexander Zverev, bringing to an end the British challenge in Melbourne.
Norrie twice fought back from a set down and took the deciding set to a tie break before succumbing to the German 7-5 3-6 6-3 4-6 7-6 (10/3).
Nonetheless a fourth-round exit represented the best Australian Open campaign yet for the British men’s No1, who achieved a notable win over 11th seed Casper Ruud in the prior round.
Norrie was the only Briton to make it to the second week of the Grand Slam, after Jack Draper, Dan Evans, Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter fell in the first week.
The 28-year-old lost a serve-dominated first set after being broken at 5-5 and recovered from going a break down to take the second and level the match.
Zverev regained the lead with the third set but again Norrie showed resilience and a new brand of attacking tennis to force a deciding set.
Signs of nerves began to creep in towards the end of the fifth set as Norrie made unforced errors but got to a tie-break with some clever shot selection and deft play.
But his challenge faltered immediately and he went on to double-fault in a one-sided tie break that eventually settled a match lasting four hours and five minutes.
“At the end of the day it’s a Grand Slam and everyone is playing their best here,” said Zverez. “Cam is definitely playing amazing tennis and I’m just happy to be through.”
Zverev now faces a quarter-final with second seed Carlos Alcaraz, who dropped just eight games in a thrashing of Miomir Kecmanovic.
Third seed Daniil Medvedev won in four sets against unseeded Nuno Borges and will meet ninth seed Hubert Hurkacz, who ended the challenge of wild card Arthur Cazaux in straight sets.
In the women’s draw, Ukrainian qualifier Dayana Yastremska reached the last eight of a Grand Slam for the first time with a 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 win over two-time champion Viktoria Azarenka.
Yastremska will meet compatriot Linda Noskova in the last eight after she progressed when her opponent, 19th seed Elina Svitolina, retired with a back problem.
