Cameron Norrie loses in straight sets to Andrey Rublev, last Brit dispensed with from US Open singles

Cameron Norrie’s run at the US Open completed in the fourth round after he lost in straight sets to Andrey Rublev on Monday.

Norrie was planning to turn into the principal British player to arrive at the quarterfinals of the men’s singles since Andy Murray back in 2016, yet in a rain-interrupted match, Norrie was left baffled by natural mistakes which saw him lose 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to Rublev in 2 hours, 26 minutes.

“I felt like I started the match very well, very relaxed and playing good, serving well.” Norrie said. “Yeah, I felt maybe a little bit too relaxed and too low energy. I don’t know why. I felt like Andrey gave me really nothing, and he was very solid. All credit to him.”

The match was an unusual stop-start affair with two breaks in the second set because of rain. World No. 9 Norrie was at that point a set and a separate by that stage.

Rublev broke Norrie in the ninth game of the first set to take that 6-4, and afterward followed that up with a speedy break in the second set to lead 3-2 against serve when the fifth game ticked around.

Rain had begun to fall and play was stopped to permit the roof on Louis Armstrong to be closed. However, notwithstanding the break, the roof stayed open and play continued. Only two games later, play was stopped once more. There was a 23-minute pause as the roof was closed and the court dried. In spite of the respite, Norrie couldn’t crush Rublev spirit and it was the Russian who went two sets up.

“It was strange,” Norrie said. “They decided to keep it open, and they waited a little bit to dry the court, and then we played two games, two very quick games, and then suddenly, Oh, no, the rain’s come again. We had to wait again for the roof to close. Yeah, it is what it is.”

The third set was risking getting away from Norrie as he lost a break of serve in the fifth game, yet it exchanged again in the 6th where Norrie crushed spirit having been given an admonition for racket maltreatment after he hammered it to the ground following his 33rd unforced error of the match.

That hoped to galvanise Norrie as he then took the seventh to go 4-3 up. “I think that was the best game of the match,” Norrie said. “I played the only game I had chances really to break. So I felt like I was able to release a little bit. Obviously it’s not ideal to be breaking racquets and doing that. Yeah, I very rarely do it, so I was able to kind of snap and change my energy and really lift after that.”

Be that as it may, Rublev drew the set level the following, and afterward got three break points in the ninth. Norrie saved the first two, yet couldn’t get close to a wonderful cross-court backhand from Rublev to allow him the opportunity to serve for the match. What’s more, he dominated that last game as Norrie stuck a backhand into the net to own Rublev to his third US Open quarterfinal where he’ll confront Rafa Nadal or Frances Tiafoe.

“I think today was everything on my side,” Rublev said. “I played [a] really good match, consistent match. Plus Cameron maybe [in] all the important moments, when I need to make an ace or to make a first serve, always happen that I was making it.

“Every time that Cameron, he had a chance, every time he was missing or a beat or something I was playing good shots. Every important moment that something was happening, it was always to my side.”

The defeat implies Great Britain’s players are out of the singles at the current year’s US Open. Norrie was the last remaining after Dan Evans fell in the third round to Marin Cilic, and Jack Draper had to resign harmed from his third round match with Karen Khachanov. On the women’s side, Harriet Dart arrived at the second round of the singles where she lost to Dalma Galfi while defending champion Emma Raducanu lost in the first round to Alize Cornet.