Cameron Norrie upsets Daniil Medvedev in French Open first round | Tennis News
Cameron Norrie defeated 11th seed Daniil Medvedev in a five-set thriller at the French Open first round on Tuesday, securing a 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 1-6, 7-5 victory at Roland Garros. In another match on the same day, third-seeded Alexander Zverev advanced to the second round with a straight-sets win over American Learner Tien, posting a score of 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. “It was a crazy match. Unreal. I deserve a diploma for beating Medvedev after losing to him four times,” Norrie said after his victory. The match between Norrie and Medvedev saw multiple momentum shifts throughout its duration. Medvedev initially took a 3-1 lead in the first set before losing his composure, resulting in eight consecutive game losses. His frustration became evident as he made animated gestures toward his coaching team. The 2021 U.S. Open champion Medvedev managed to regain his form despite the windy conditions on the Simonne Matthieu court. With vocal support from the crowd, he claimed the third set and dominated the fourth set, winning an impressive streak of 16 consecutive points.
The deciding set witnessed Medvedev breaking Norrie’s serve to take a 2-1 lead with a swift passing shot. However, Norrie, who recently reached the semi-finals at the Geneva Open, found his rhythm and broke back before securing the victory on his first match point. The loss marked Medvedev’s sixth first-round exit at Roland Garros, adding another disappointing chapter to his French Open campaign. Quiz: Who’s that IPL player? In the other significant match of the day, Alexander Zverev displayed strong form in his opening round victory over Learner Tien. The German player, who finished as runner-up in last year’s tournament, will face either Jesper De Jong of the Netherlands or Italian Francesco Passaro in the second round. “It was a good start to the tournament. I’m happy with the three-set win, usually it’s more four or five sets in first matches. Hopefully it will continue like this and it will be a fun two weeks here,” Zverev stated after his match.
Zverev acknowledged his previous loss to Tien helped him maintain focus during their encounter. “He beat a lot of great opponents – (Daniil) Medvedev at the Australian Open and me in Acapulco,” Zverev recalled. “He is going climb up the rankings. Today it helped that I played him once before, maybe it helped that I lost also to him. I am happy with the performance all around,” Zverev added. The contrasting fortunes of Medvedev and Zverev on the opening day of the French Open highlighted the unpredictable nature of Grand Slam tennis, with one top seed making an early exit while another advanced comfortably to the next round. The French Open continued to demonstrate its capacity for producing surprising results, with Norrie’s victory over Medvedev serving as one of the tournament’s first significant upsets. Meanwhile, Zverev’s strong start suggested he might be ready to challenge for his first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros.
