Third seed Alexander Zverev halted a brief comeback from Cameron Norrie at the Australian Open to reach the fourth round for the third successive year, prevailing 7–5 4–6 6–3 6–1 on John Cain Arena.
The German, a beaten finalist in Melbourne last year, was dominant in the majority of his service games and, despite Cameron Norrie taking the second set, remained in control for the remainder of the match.
Although he said after the match that he was unhappy with his serving, figures such as a 72% first-serve rate, winning 78% of points behind his first serve, and claiming 16 of his 18 service points in the fourth set suggest Zverev will undoubtedly be pleased with his overall level, especially with his forehand looking in top form as well.
For Norrie, it was back to the drawing board after extending his losing streak against the German to 7–0.
Norrie came out firing, breaking Zverev immediately to move 2–0 ahead. But the German quickly found his rhythm, breaking back and then tightening his grip on the set through a series of assured service holds. He pounced again at 6–5 with a punishing return game against Norrie, before serving to love to claim the opening set.
Zverev exerted increasing pressure on Norrie in the fifth game of the second set, but Norrie saved all three break points to hold for 3–3 after nearly ten minutes.
Norrie then conjured some magic of his own to take the second set, drilling a return past Zverev to earn set point before levelling the match when the German netted another forceful return.
The third set went Zverev’s way, as errors crept into Norrie’s game to hand the German an early break. With Zverev serving at a high level, Norrie could find no way through, before meekly surrendering a second break to leave Zverev firmly in control.
The fourth set was largely one-way traffic for Zverev, as Norrie, perhaps sensing the match was slipping away, struggled to cope with the accuracy and power of the German’s forehand, slipping quickly to a 5–0 deficit.
The British No. 2 Cameron Norrie held serve to get on the board, then made Zverev work to close out the match. But the German saved two break points before appropriately sealing victory with an ace.
After his win, Alexander Zverev spoke highly of his opponent and assessed his own performance during his on-court interview.
“To be honest, the last two matches were fantastic because they (opponents) played really good tennis. Today, I think Cameron played the best match that we have played level-wise. I am happy to move forward and happy with the win.
“I actually thought I was serving bad but I was hitting my forehand quite big. That is the shot that is going to make me win or going to lose. If I feel confident in that shot and hitting it in that way, it’s very important.”
Zverev will play Argentinian 18th Seed Francisco Cerúndolo in the fourth round.
