At Queen’s, Cameron Norrie experienced a defeat at the hands of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, making it his initial singles appearance since sustaining a rib complaint in May.
While Norrie frequently stands as the final British participant in Grand Slam events, he was compelled to withdraw injured from his initial French Open encounter last month due to the very same issue.
His comeback to competition took place in the men’s doubles at Queen’s on Monday, a match in which he and his Australian teammate, Alex de Minaur, were overcome 6-4 7-5 by the pairing of India’s Yuki Bhambri and New Zealand’s Michael Venus.
The subsequent day, Tuesday, saw the UK’s top-ranked player commence powerfully against the world number 22, Davidovich Fokina, yet he eventually faltered, culminating in a 7-6 (8-6) 6-2 defeat.
Norrie managed to achieve an early service break against his Spanish adversary, but Davidovich Fokina promptly retaliated, subsequently maintaining his composure throughout the tie-break.
Notwithstanding Davidovich Fokina’s repeated instances of being on the court surface, a result of his diving and sliding maneuvers, he succeeded in breaking Norrie’s serve on two occasions as he advanced towards securing the triumph.
Norrie stands as one of merely five British players to gain direct admission into Wimbledon’s primary draw, and he is set to be a seeded competitor when the championship starts on Monday, 29 June.
