Cameron Norrie saved a match point and battled through illness to beat Spanish youngster Martin Landaluce in the opening round of the Madrid Open.
Norrie has struggled for form over the last year, slipping to 91 in the world, and the former British No 1 had not won an ATP Tour match since Indian Wells in early March.
He was clearly not at his best physically against 19-year-old Landaluce but used his experience to secure a 6-7 (4) 7-5 6-4 victory.
Cameron Norrie claimed survived match point to reach the second round at the Madrid Open
Norrie revealed afterwards he has been struggling with sickness, telling Sky Sports: “It’s terrible timing but at least I have another day tomorrow to rest. Hopefully it will pass pretty quickly.”
An up-and-down match saw Norrie lose five games in a row from 3-0 up in the opening set and then fight back from 3-0 down in the second before Landaluce narrowly missed a big forehand on match point at 4-5.
Norrie took his opportunity to force a deciding set and a wild game from his young opponent at 4-4 proved the difference.
“It’s maybe one of my favourite wins,” said Norrie, who next faces 26th seed Jiri Lehecka. “I was feeling absolutely terrible, I wasn’t sure I was going to play, I had no energy, didn’t sleep at all last night.
After a tough win over Martin Landaluce on no sleep and energy, Cam Norrie discusses why it may be one of his favourite wins
“I started very low energy, sleeping on the court still. I had to create my own energy. He actually played really well, I know he’s a really good player, so I had to fight every point.”
Norrie’s section of the draw has opened up because of the withdrawal earlier on Thursday of second seed Carlos Alcaraz, who needed treatment for a leg injury in his Barcelona Open final defeat by Holger Rune on Sunday and has not recovered sufficiently.
Highlights of the Barcelona Open final between Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune
Alcaraz told a press conference: “I’m really disappointed that I’m not able to play here in Madrid, it’s a place that I love playing, in front of my people.
“It was a really difficult situation, really difficult to decide, but it is what it is. You have to hear your body sometimes. I will come back stronger.”
Swiatek survives another scare
In the women’s draw, defending champion Iga Swiatek gained revenge for her shock Miami Open loss to Filipino teenager Alexandra Eala.
Highlights of Alexandra Eala against Iga Swiatek in the Madrid Open
It was another difficult encounter for the Pole, though, with 19-year-old Eala leading by a set and a break before Swiatek fought back to win 4-6 6-4 6-2.
There was a shock loss for Stuttgart champion Jelena Ostapenko, who extended her head-to-head advantage against Swiatek to 6-0 on her way to the title in Germany on Monday.
Ostapenko fell at the first hurdle in the Spanish capital to fellow Latvian Anastasija Sevastova, who is making her second comeback in three years following maternity leave and a serious knee injury.
Elsewhere, seventh seed Mirra Andreeva saw off Marie Bouzkova 6-3 6-4 while 11th seed Emma Navarro defeated Australian qualifier Maya Joint 7-5 7-5.
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