Norrie tunes up with a first clay-court title

CAMERON Norrie geared up for the French Open in ideal fashion by winning his first clay-court title at the Lyon Open.

Top seed Norrie claimed his fourth ATP Tour title by beating Slovakia’s Alex Molcan in three sets on Saturday afternoon.

The Briton, who lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in last year’s final, bounced back from squandering two match points in the second set before losing it on a tie-break to triumph 6-3, 6-7 (3-7), 6-1. He was delighted to have ended his wait for a first title on clay.

In his on-court interview, he said: “It is my first title on the clay, so it means a lot to me.

“I couldn’t be happier with how I handled everything this week. This one feels the best so far. I don’t know why, it’s so special and I couldn’t be happier and I’m really speechless right now. It was an incredible atmosphere.”

Norrie, who has risen to world number 11, reached his tenth ATP final by defeating teenager Holger Rune in the last four. And this was a second title of the season after victory in Delray Beach.

He said: “I had chances to close the matches in straight sets this week and get it done easier than usual and it didn’t go that way and I was able to let that go and respond. In the third set, I moved really well and it’s nice to get over the line.”

Norrie, who is seeded tenth for the French Open, takes on French wildcard Manuel Guinard in first round at Roland Garros.

Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic admits he faces a tough challenge to defend his French Open title.

Djokovic, who beat 13-time champion Rafael Nadal on his way to victory last year, is in the same half of the draw as the Spaniard and could meet him in a blockbuster quarter-final.

Also lurking in a seemingly lopsided draw is teenage sensation Carlos Alcaraz and world number three Alexander Zverev.

Djokovic said: “I had a look at the draw. I think every player always looks at the entire draw and studies it in a way.

“You can only focus on your next challenge and match. And, of course, it’s a very tough top half of the men’s draw, but there is something that you can’t really affect. It is what it is.”

The Serbian begins against Yoshihito Nishioka, of Japan.