NORRIE BLOWS BIG CHANCE OF LAST-16 SPOT
STRANGE things are happening at this US Open and among them last night was the abrupt collapse of Cam Norrie, who missed an excellent chance to make it into the last-16. Norrie was making decent headway at a set-all and a break up before losing 11 of the last 12 games to go down 7-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 to the world No 99, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain. The intensity drained out of him like water gurgling down a plug hole from when he failed to consolidate his lead, having swung the match in his favour towards the end of the second set. Norrie was followed on court by Dan Evans, resuming his rain-delayed match against Frenchman Corentin Moutet and trying to make the third round for the fourth time. After an encouraging start to the week for the Brits, Evans was the last man standing. But, despite taking the first set, he then lost the next three to go crashing out. Against a lower ranked opponent, this was a serious missed opportunity for Norrie, who would have guaranteed himself a minimum £190,000 for making the second week. Given what a big chance this was for both players, it was not surprising that there was plenty of tension. Aside from the prize money there was a bonanza of ranking points on offer. Norrie, the 25-year-old left-hander ranked 76, clung on at the start, making lots of errors until he was outplayed to lose the tiebreak 7-2. In the second set it was Davidovich Fokina who got tight. The 21-year-old lost focus and allowed Norrie to get ahead with an early break in the third. But then the momentum shifted. From 2-1 up, Norrie lost eight straight games and received a code violation for an obscenity at the end of the third set. At least the losers will be able to get out of town quickly, which is more than can be said for the six players judged to be ‘close contacts’ of the positively-tested Benoit Paire. According to one of them, Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens, they have now been told they cannot leave their hotel rooms despite having been eliminated and promised their own mini bubble of practice facilities. Frustration is mounting to the point where they offered to club together to take a private jet back to Paris from New York, a request refused by the State Health Authority. There was support for the US Tennis Association’s strict stance from former world No 1 Andy Roddick, who criticised the complaint of another of the affected players, Kiki Mladenovic, that they were being treated like ‘prisoners or criminals’. Roddick tweeted: ‘Prisoners/ criminals don’t get a chance to play sport/2nd rounds for six figures in prize money.’