Norrie, the last Brit standing, plays down his injury issues
Cameron Norrie was pleased to show his mental fortitude in a gritty comeback victory over Giulio Zeppieri in the second round of the Australian Open.
A strong wind and two rain breaks, coupled with an inspired opponent, made life difficult for the 19th seed but he battled to a 3-6 6-7 (4) 6-2 6-4 6-4 victory to set up a clash with 11th seed Casper Ruud.
Norrie took a medical timeout early in the match for treatment to his right knee and was also shaking out the troublesome left wrist that prompted his withdrawal from a tournament in Auckland last week.
The British No 1 is confident the issues will not hinder his chances, and took heart from being able to play through the discomfort.
He said: "I feel great right now. I think it will be interesting to see how I pull up. The legs feel great. Hopefully the wrist is good, as well. I think it's just a good lesson to learn that I can play with a few distractions going on.
"I don't think the knee was anything. I think it just was a bit more precautionary. Actually it loosened up. I think it
was probably just being very tense from the match.
"I think I have to make sure I warm up really well. Once the wrist is warm, then I'm not feeling it. So I think it's just trying to stay warm and play and not think about it. I was able to prove that in the first couple matches.”
Norrie finds himself in the now familiar position of being the only British singles player left in the tournament.
Emma Raducanu struggled with a stomach bug during a marathon second-round loss to Wang Yafan. The former US
Open champion, playing only her fourth match since returning from eight months out and three surgeries, lost 6-4 4-6 6-4 after two hours 55 minutes.
Raducanu had battled back strongly from a set and a break down to force a decider. But she then began to show a lot of discomfort, clutching at her chest and abdomen before calling the trainer two games in. She had her blood pressure checked and took some pills before resuming, and she battled hard but Wang held firm.
It appeared Raducanu was struggling with her breathing but she revealed in her press conference that she was feeling sick having gone into the contest under the weather.
"I think I just had a bit of a stomach bug beforehand," she said. "Now I feel a little bit better. I had some time.
"During the match, third set I was 30-0 up serving. Then all of a sudden I just felt so sick, just really weak and nauseous. Throughout the third set I think everyone could see it was a bit of a battle.
"Like physically, body-wise, I felt fine. It was more I was throwing up in my mouth. Then after the match, it came out. Now I'm OK. I'll get over it. It just sucks with the timing.”
Jack Draper and Katie Boulter also suffered second-round exits. Both found themselves up against highlyranked opponents and were unable to cause upsets, with Draper losing 6-2 3-6 6-3 7-5 to 14th seed Tommy Paul, while Boulter was beaten 6-3 6-3 by 12th seed Zheng Qinwen.
The match between Elena Rybakina and Anna Blinkova was record-breaking. Blinkova beat third seed Rybakina 6-4 4-6 7-6 (22/20) on her 10th match point, with Rybakina having seen six opportunities go begging. It was the longest tie-break in a singles match in grand slam history.