Cameron Norrie kept the British flag flying in the Wimbledon men’s draw by effortlessly defeating Italian world number 73 Mattia Bellucci to reach the fourth round.
Jack Draper’s surprise second-round loss on Thursday to former finalist Marin Cilic left Norrie as the last British man standing in SW19.
To the delight of the Court One crowd, the 2022 semi-finalist delivered, recovering from a slow start to win 7-6 (5) 6-4 6-3.
"I honestly don’t really care about that too much," Norrie, speaking on court, said of being Britain’s only remaining male hope.
"I was just hitting the ball, playing point for point, the atmosphere was amazing and I was so happy to be back on this court and just enjoying my tennis. Apparently I’m the last Brit standing, so I’ll take it."
Norrie will take on either Brazilian teenage sensation Joao Fonseca or Chilean qualifier Nicolas Jarry next, with two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz a potential quarter-final opponent.
The 29-year-old has fallen below the radar since his exploits three years ago, dropping from a career-high ranking of eighth to 61st—via a spell at 91st—and falling below Draper and Jacob Fearnley in the British rankings.
He reminded everyone of his talents by sweeping past 12th seed Frances Tiafoe in round two, and this—on paper, at least—looked to be a more straightforward task.
Yet Norrie was on the backfoot in the early stages against a fellow left-hander who had defeated Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas earlier this year and came out firing.
Bellucci broke to love in the opening game and then fought back from 40-0 down to hold in game two, while his 16 first-set winners included an outrageous forehand around the side of the net off the Briton’s serve.
Norrie eventually broke to love to level at 4-4 before a stunning backhand helped settle a tense tiebreak in his favor.
Bellucci took a set off Draper in the first round of this year’s French Open before fading.
Following his bright start, the 24-year-old looked set to suffer a similar fate after failing to hold at the start of the second set, but he soon broke back from 40-0 down.
However, Norrie regained the initiative in game seven before sealing the set with an ace and then easing through the decider to progress in two hours and 28 minutes.
"I was hitting the ball well and I think I started a little bit overconfident and going for too much and he started great," he said.
"I hung in there, played a couple of tough games and definitely stole that first set. And I think that was even better for me: to start a little bit slow and for him to have a few chances and to play a really good tiebreak again."
"He was a little bit up and down with his tennis and I just tried to stay as solid as I could and ride the waves and weather the storm when I needed to."
"It was a lot of fun, it was another battle and I’m happy to be through—it was such a good match."
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