Cameron Norrie set up a first ever meeting with Jannik Sinner after battling into the fourth round of the Madrid Open with a 7-5 7-6 (7-5) victory over Thiago Agustin Tirante on Sunday.
While Norrie has faced Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic on multiple occasions, he has oddly never played world No 1 Sinner.
That will change on Tuesday when the 30-year-old will look to halt Sinner’s 19-match winning streak and make the quarter-finals in Madrid for the first time.
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Cameron Norrie gives his reaction after beating Thiago Agustin Tirante at the Madrid Open to set up a clash with Jannik Sinner
“I’m excited to play him [Sinner] but every time we practice he rips me up,” Norrie told Sky Sports.
“He’s probably the most confident player in tennis right now but I just need to play my game. He’ll be tough to play against but I’m excited for it.”
Having survived a near three-hour battle against Tomas Machac in the second round, Norrie managed to see off big-serving Tirante in straight sets, albeit the Argentine was competitive in both.
It was a contest of few chances but Norrie converted his third opportunity to break in the 12th game of the opening set with a backhand winner and then clinched his first match point in a nervy second-set tie-break.
Tirante, ranked 75th in the world, sent down a serve measured at 149 miles per hour in the sixth game but was unable to create any break points on the Norrie serve.
Gauff battles through illness to reach last 16 in Madrid
World No 3 Coco Gauff fought off more than just her opponent at the Madrid Open on Sunday, overcoming illness to beat Sorana Cirstea to advance to the last 16.
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Highlights from the Round of 32 game between Sorana Cirstea and Coco Gauff at the Madrid Open
Despite struggling with a stomach virus, leading to the American vomiting into a bin midway through the second set, Gauff fought back to claim a 4-6 7-5 6-1 victory.
Several players have appeared to have been battling a bug at the tournament, including six-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek, who said she had “zero stability and zero energy” after retiring from her match against Ann Li on Saturday.
“Honestly, I was just trying to finish the match and one point turned into another,” said Gauff, who finished runner-up in Madrid and Rome last year before winning the French Open.
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Coco Gauff gives her reaction to beating Sorana Cirstea at the Madrid Open after she overcame illness throughout the tie
“I think I got what everybody else is having here in Madrid, unfortunately. So I’m just going to try to push through for tomorrow.”
Gauff added: “It was a weird feeling today. I don’t know how I got through it.
“I’m not someone who likes to pull out so I didn’t want to pull out again today. I’m glad that I was able to get through it.”
Gauff will hope to recover in time for her fourth-round clash against 13th seed Linda Noskova.
The Czech benefited from a walkover on Sunday, with 20th seed Liudmila Samsonova apparently another victim of the virus as she was unable to take to the court.
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