MY ACCOUNT
World No12 Cameron Norrie is now expected to spearhead the British challenge at Wimbledon this year after a disappointing Wednesday called time on the tournaments of both Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu.
The 26-year-old faces Steve Johnson in the third round on Friday hoping to revive home hopes that were dashed when two-time winner Murray fell to John Isner and US Open champion Raducanu suffered defeat against Caroline Garcia.
Cam coming into focus
Norrie was made to work hard by second-round opponent Jaume Munar, who is a regular practice partner with his Spanish compatriot Rafael Nadal, but the ninth seed showed great resolve to come through in an epic five-set battle.
With third seed Casper Ruud and last year’s semi-finalist Hubert Hurkacz having both already been sent packing from SW19, Norrie is now the highest-ranked player left in the second quarter of the draw.
The South Africa-born left hander has never gone beyond the third round of a Grand Slam but he may never get a better opportunity to go deep in his home slam.
If Norrie gets the better of Johnson, as he will be expected to do so, then Tommy Paul or Jiri Vesely would wait in the fourth round.
Interestingly, American 23rd seed Frances Tiafoe would be the highest-ranked player the Brit could meet before a potential semi-final showdown with hot favourite Novak Djokovic.
End of the road for Murray
Murray fought valiantly but was unable to complete a comeback against big-serving American Isner, who prevailed in four sets on an atmospheric centre court.
The former British and world No1 looked like he was mounting a typical turnaround when clinching the third set on a tie-break but former semi-finalist Isner, who did not drop serve during the contest, was able to successfully silence Murray’s army of supporters.
US champ sent packing
Hopes were also high for Raducanu after her impressive first-round win over Alison Van Uytvanck.
However, the 19-year-old was unable to repeat the trick against Garcia, who had claimed a grass-court title in Bad Homburg only last week — her first trophy in three years.
The Frenchwoman, 28, ran out a decisive 6-3 6-3 winner to tee-up a third-round meeting with Shuai Zhang.
British hopes
There are still a trio of British women in the draw, although Harriet Dart and Katie Boulter are faced with torrid Thursday tasks.
Dart has a second-round date with Jessica Pegula and the American has made the quarter-final of the Australian Open and Roland Garros already this season, so the Londoner looks up against it.
Boulter’s challenge does not look any easier, however, as she does battle with last year’s runner-up Karolina Pliskova.
Heather Watson is the other remaining Brit in the women’s draw, who secured her spot in round three thanks to a straight-sets win over Qiang Wang.
