By Rory Carroll
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Cameron Norrie beat Benoit Paire 6-0 7-6(1) 6-0 in a strange first-round clash at the U.S. Open on Tuesday, where the Frenchman at times appeared not to be making maximum effort.
The first set was all one-way traffic as the seventh-seeded Briton took advantage of Paire’s errors to bagel him in just 18 minutes.
Paire stepped up his game in the second set when play was briefly halted amid sweltering conditions as a fan required medical attention, and he even had a chance to level the match when he served leading 5-3.
But the veteran could not capitalise and was broken in the next game and out gunned in the one-sided tiebreak.
The final set lasted just 15 minutes as Paire appeared content to make his exit from the tournament.
“It’s tricky, especially with how Benoit plays,” Norrie said when asked about playing against someone who at times did not appear to be trying to win.
“Because he looks like he’s not really there and he can come up with a few good shots and a few big returns. In that third set he was love-30 a couple times, 15-30, and that’s when he’s very dangerous. I think he’s an exciting player to watch and he’s a really nice guy.”
He later added: “It’s unfortunate, I think he played a little bit too quick, and at the end of the day I went out and did my job.”
Baseline specialist Norrie was bounced out of the year’s final Grand slam in the first round last year and has never made it past the third round at Flushing Meadows.
He has, however, enjoyed success on American hardcourts including winning at Indian Wells in 2021 and claiming the Delray Beach title in February.
Norrie, who improved his win-loss record to 42-19 for the year, will next face Portuguese Joao Sousa who came out on top in a rollercoater match against American Mackenzie McDonald, winning 1-6 7-6(4)7-6(4) 6-3 on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in New YorkEditing by Toby Davis)
Source: One America News Network
