Norrie crashes out of Monte Carlo Masters I Korda upsets Alcaraz
Cameron Norrie has been knocked out of the Monte Carlo Masters; The British No 1 was beaten in three sets by Albert Ramos-Vinolas; the Spaniard has now beaten Norrie in all four of their meetings; Dan Evans also bows out while Sebastian Korda upsets Carlos Alcaraz
Last Updated: 13/04/22 4:39pm
British No 1 Cameron Norrie crashed out of the Monte Carlo Masters after losing in three sets to Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas.
Norrie, who received a bye in the first round as the seventh seed, recovered from a set and a break down to force a decider, with his opponent seemingly struggling with an abdominal injury.
However, world No 37 Ramos-Vinolas fought back to win 6-4 2-6 6-4 in two hours and 32 minutes, the eighth victory of his career against a player ranked in the world’s top 10.
Ramos-Vinolas has now won all four of his matches on clay against Norrie, whose only victory against the Spaniard came on grass at Queen’s last year.
Norrie saved a break-point in the opening game of the match with the aid of two aces, but was broken in the seventh game and was unable to convert his only break point of the set as Ramos-Vinolas served it out.
Ramos-Vinolas then broke in the opening game of the second set and held serve to lead 2-0, only for Norrie to rattle off the next six games in a row, including three breaks of serve, to set up a decider.
After taking a painkiller for his injury, Ramos-Vinolas rediscovered his best form in the final set and one break of serve was enough to secure a rollercoaster win.
“We always have good matches and he’s in the top 10 so for me today it’s a great win,” Ramos-Vinolas said in an on-court interview.
“I started off well and was 2-0 up in the second set but tennis is like this. I lost seven (games) in a row but somehow I start to play good and I’m happy to be in the next round.”
British No 2 Dan Evans also bowed out of the event after losing in straight sets to Belgium’s David Goffin.
Evans saved five break points in the opening set before Goffin won the tie-break, with the world No 47 then breaking three times in the second on his way to a 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 victory.
Korda masters Alcaraz
American Sebastian Korda mastered the windy conditions in Monte Carlo to topple Miami Open champion Carlos Alcaraz 7-6(2) 6-7(5) 6-3 on Wednesday and advance to the last 16 of the Masters tournament.
“After losing to a Spaniard in Indian Wells and serving for it, it was nice to get a victory today,” said Korda, who pushed Rafael Nadal to a third-set tie-break at the California tournament.
“I had to just stay calm and believe in my returning. Every time you’d throw up the ball, it would move around. It was super tough to serve today but I’m super happy with the way I handled myself.
“I did get a lot of good practice on my return, but I don’t know what to say. It was a crazy match!”
The tournament is without a number of big names, including Nadal, Daniil Medvedev, Dominic Thiem and Matteo Berrettini, while world No 1 Novak Djokovic crashed out in the second round on Tuesday.
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