Cameron Norrie’s miserable season continued with a straight-set loss to Emil Ruusuvuori at Eastbourne. The athlete lost 7-6 (11-9), 6-3 to the Finnish player, who currently ranks 88th in the world.
With just 14 victories in 27 games and a drop to 44th in the world rankings, the 28-year-old has had a disappointing 2024 playing season. Moreover, Norrie will not be seeded in this year’s Wimbledon tournament.
Highlights of the play
In an attempt to improve on his previous week’s first-round loss at Queen’s, Norrie started the match steadily but failed to make the most out of the two break points while leading 3-2. After trailing 5-3 and needing to save two set points, Ruusuvuori managed to hold on and force a tie-break.
During the opening moments of the second set, Ruusuvuori improved his game to win the vital break and take a 5-3 lead, leaving Norrie disappointed once more about lost opportunities. With a British audience in his corner, Norrie tried to rally, but lost twice as his opponent sealed the victory to end a five-match losing streak.
With his win, Ruusuvuori will take on Chinese qualifier Shang Juncheng, who stunned seventh-seeded Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina by winning 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4) in straight sets.
In other related news, Britain’s Giles Hussey pulled off an incredible victory over sixth seed Mariano Navone, having only 45 minutes of the match. The 359th-ranked player in the world made the most of the game, defeating the Argentine 6-4, 6-2.
Source: BBC