Australian Open 2026: Cam Norrie channels ‘unreal’ atmosphere to book third round clash with Alexander Zverev
• 3 minute read
Cam Norrie will continue the British challenge into the third round of the Australian Open as he gets set to face world No.3 Alexander Zverev.
Norrie channeled the partisan crowd to see off world No.89 Emilio Nava 6-1, 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(5) in a tough second round battle.
The 30-year-old had to show great composure under pressure to come out after a rain delay during the fourth set tie-break to complete his win in three hours and 20 minutes.
The British No.2 is now through to the third round in Melbourne for the fourth time in his career and has now made the round of 32 at 12 of his last 16 Grand Slam events.
Norrie credited the fans and the atmosphere around Court 7 for getting him through some big moments in a hard-fought victory against a tough opponent.
“The atmosphere was unreal,” he said after the match. “It helped me so much. Credit to Nava he served and played really well when the crowd was against him. That’s not easy.
“I would say one of the best atmospheres. I would say the best atmosphere at the Australian Open. Maybe top three of my career.
“I think I could look anywhere and someone was getting fired up for me. I was pulling from all parts of the court. That can really help you in those matches. It was so fun.”
Norrie played a solid match from start to finish against the hard-hitting American and made another fast start with a double break to take an early one set lead.
Nava stepped up his game in the second set and led by a break twice with the chance to serve for it at 5-3. Norrie’s relentless consistency and experience in the big points proved the defining factor in the match and once he got into the tie-break, the British No.2 barely missed a beat.
Two sets down, Nava came out swinging in the third and gave himself a lifeline – this time saving two break points at 5-4 to serve it out and force the Brit into a fourth.
A cagey fourth set saw both players have to rescue break points before heading into another tie-break, where they were forced off court due to a rain delay with the Brit 4-3 up and a mini break in hand.
Norrie dealt with pressure to come through his first round match against Benjamin Bonzi in five-sets and showed his mentality once again. The Briton came out with two unreturnable serves to set up three match points before closing it out with a trademark physical baseline exchange.
“It feels really good. I think I was really pleased with the level of the match, especially considering the conditions. It was not easy to play. Very windy.
“I was feeling really confident out here. Coming back out at 4-3 in the breaker I was a bit tight on the groundstrokes but I managed to get it done. It’s an amazing feeling with everyone here. I had some friends in the crowd so it was really special.”
Next up for Norrie will be last year’s runner-up and third seed Zverev in a repeat of the 2024 fourth round.
On that day, Norrie took the German to a fifth set tie-break before narrowly missing out on a first Australian Open quarter-final.
“I'll definitely watch that one,” he commented on their last meeting in Melbourne. “I used the drop shot unreal that day. I was playing so free, enjoying the match so much, coming forward a lot. I was troubling him a lot and mixing it up a lot. I think I'm going to have to sprinkle some of that in, for sure.
“I think maybe in that fifth set tie-break I used maybe too much and missed a couple shots I would not usually go for. I think I'll just be a bit tougher in that tie-break. He was playing the extra ball.
“I think he'll remember that match. It was so tough. But I'm excited to have another crack at him.”
Norrie will face Zverev in the Australian Open third round on Friday 23 January.
