Five years after his big triumph at Indian Wells, Britain’s Cameron Norrie produced a dramatic comeback to beat third seed Alex de Minaur and reach the fourth round of the National Bank Open in Montreal.
Norrie looked down and out when he trailed 7-5, 5-2 and faced match point, but he stormed back, winning 11 of the next 13 games to take the match 5-7, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1. The win moved him up to No. 36 in the live rankings and makes him the new British No. 1, overtaking Arthur Fery.
The former Wimbledon semi-finalist converted eight of 13 break points and leaned on his trademark resilience to turn the contest around. Asked whether he now sees himself as a favourite in Montreal, Norrie tempered expectations: “Everyone is so tough. I’m playing the next highest guy, Fils — he’s one of the best players in the world when he’s confident and playing well — but I’m just so happy. I’ve got some time to rest, happy with my attitude. I played every single point and that’s what I came to do and it was the icing on the cake to win the match.”
Up next for Norrie is 18th seed Arthur Fils, who earlier dispatched Mariano Navone 6-3, 6-2 and has continued his strong run at Masters 1000 events this season. With de Minaur out, the top seed remaining at the tournament is now Ben Shelton, the fifth seed and defending champion.
In the women’s draw, six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Świątek progressed to the fourth round with a commanding 6-2, 6-1 win over Viktorija Golubic in 66 minutes. Świątek produced 18 winners to Golubic’s five and surrendered just 14 points on serve. She will meet Marta Kostyuk next; Świątek leads their head-to-head 3-1, though Kostyuk beat her earlier this year at the French Open.
Both draws now set up intriguing ties as the tournament moves deeper into the week: Norrie bidding for a second Masters title and Świątek aiming to advance toward a second quarter-final in Canada.