By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Tuesday, May 27, 2025
Photo credit: Tim Clayton/Corbis for Getty
A titanic terre battue tug-of-war turned when Cameron Norrie pulled a pulsating escape act.
Then Norrie hurled.
An ecstatic Norrie wound up and flung his Babolat high in the sky.
Winless in four career clashes vs. Daniil Medvedev, Norrie pulled off a crackling 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 1-6, 7-5 upset of the former Roland Garros quarterfinalist on Court Simonne Mathieu.
On match point, Norrie ran down an angled dropper, slid a reply down the line and set up at net. A sprinting Medvedev had a look at a tough running forehand pass but sailed the shot long inciting Norrie to try to pierce the clouds with that racquet throw.
The world No. 81 called it “one of the top three” victories of his life.
“It was just nice release of energy. I think it was a good throw,” Norrie told the media in Paris. “I threw it pretty well, pretty accurate. Yeah, I was happy it stayed on the court. Racquet wasn’t broken.
“Yeah, it was just kind of instinct. Threw it. Yeah, it was, like I said, playing Daniil is not easy. I’ve lost to him I think the last four, maybe five times at least. It was always going to be a tricky match for me. I was really happy with how I handled the match and how I had to fight literally every point to have a chance with him. It was just pure emotion at the end and pure instinct. It was a good throw.”
The victor’s elation contrasted with the loser’s deflation.
Playing as a non Top 10 seed for the first time in a Slam since the 2019 Wimbledon, Medvedev suffered his sixth Roland Garros opening-round exit in nine Paris appearances.
Four months after Medvedev lost to Learner Tien in a painful five-set Australian Open second-round loss, he faces the ghosts of frustration—and a title drought that dates back to his unlikely run to the 2023 Rome championship. Medvedev fell to Jannik Sinner in a punishing five-set Australian Open final loss in 2024 and went on to reach the Wimbledon semifinals and US Open quarterfinals last year.
This loss stings because Medvedev served for the second round at 5-4 and delivered a sloppy game.
“I didn’t manage to serve it out. I mean, kind of close match,” Medvedev said. “Great fight. Disappointed to lose. He played well. I didn’t play good enough. So that’s why I lost.”
Norrie threw everything he had at Medvedev, who clawed back from a two-set hole making a radical racquet change. Medvedev switched to an all polyester string bed and tighter tension in his Tecnifibre racquet. The string switch worked: Medvedev rallied from two sets down and served for the second round at 5-4 only to see Norrie drain a slew of unforced errors breaking back at 15.
The final two games were deuce duels that saw Norrie lock down and beat Medvedev at his own game of baseline counterstrikes.
“This one is so different from Rome and Madrid. Clay, the balls, like, everything,” Medvedev said of the string switch. “I had one week here. I didn’t find anything that worked well.
“So during the match, I had to change something when I was losing. It actually worked. Unfortunately I didn’t win.”
The left-handed Norrie snapped an eight-match losing streak against Top 20 opponents on clay posting his first Top 20 triumph on dirt since defeating No. 2 Carlos Acaraz in the 2023 Rio final.
Though Norrie was 0-10 vs. Top 20 players since defeating No. 11 Casper Ruud at the 2024 Australian Open, he had a secret weapon working today: Imagination.
Norrie, who played through qualifying to battle to the Geneva semifinals last week where he pushed Grand Slam king Novak Djokovic to three sets, said he felt he was riding the red clay wave.
“I think it was really helpful to play Novak last week in the semis,” Norrie said. “I felt it was just a continuation of that match today. It was like playing the fourth set against Novak in the first set against Daniil. I really felt prepared.
“I had the matches, like I said. It was maybe tougher today than it was with Novak in terms of the rallies. He would give me absolutely nothing. It was a lot of fun. Like I said, I prepared well. Yeah, managed to go my way. You can take the confidence from last week, qualifying and playing four, five really.”
After breaking Medvedev twice in a row to seize a gritty three hour, 53 minute win, Norrie did not break his Babolat stick with the victory hurl. He’ll need it for round two against 144th-ranked Argentinean lucky loser Federico Gomez.
Relishing these big battles is helping spark Norrie’s revival at the age of 29.
“I think it just comes back to how much I’ve been enjoying it,” Norrie said. “Last week and the weeks before that, the whole clay season, I’m just really enjoying all of it on the court, off the court.
“Not trying to put any expectation on the match day or the performances. Just playing with what I got that day and making it tough for the other guy, enjoying all the moments. I did that again today. I could have lost the match. But somehow it went my way.”
