Mutua Madrid Open 2026: Cam Norrie battles past Thomas Mahac to reach third round
• 2 minute read
Cam Norrie booked his place in the third round of the Mutua Madrid Open after fighting through a testing battle against Tomas Machac, while Katie Boulter bowed out to fifth seed Jessica Pegula.
The British No.1 had to dig deep against the Czech star, but eventually prevailed after securing a 6-2, 6-7(6), 7-6(5) win in a tight battle lasting almost three hours.
Norrie's victory now sees him reach the third round in Madrid for the fourth year in a row.
Next up, he will face Argentina's Thiago Agustin Tirante in the third round, after the world No.75 caused an upset over 15th seed Tommy Paul - beating the American 7-5, 6-4. It will mark a career-first meeting between Norrie and Agustin Tirante.
“The atmosphere was crazy, it was so, so good – one of the best matches of my career,” Norrie said in his post-match interview with Gigi Salmon.
“I was just enjoying all of it, the atmosphere was so good and I was playing so well. The level was really high and it tested me in so many different ways. I had to play to win and yeah, I was just enjoying it from start to finish.
“There are the kind of matches where if you can get through, you can have a really big week. A lot of the time, you can get through these matches and relax and feel like you’re playing freely so it’s nice to be through.”
Norrie made a blistering start to his clash with Machac, breaking the world No.42 twice to wrap up the opening set in just 36 minutes.
Momentum soon shifted as the Czech raised his level, dragging the contest back to one set apiece. Norrie squandered a match point in a turbulent second set tie-break before Machac fired an explosive forehand cross court.
Despite creating numerous chances to seize control, Machac struggled to capitalise on his chances, converting just one of his 12 break point opportunities on Norrie’s serve across the match. His only breakthrough came in the deciding set, but it proved short-lived as Norrie quickly clawed his way back to 5-5 before forcing a tie-break.
Machac looked poised for victory when he secured a mini-break to edge 5-4 ahead, but the Brit responded in style. A sublime drop shot halted the Czech’s momentum before Norrie struck again, sealing a hard-fought victory with a thunderous serve down the T which Machac sent wide.
Boulter defeated by Pegula in second round
Boulter put in a strong performance but eventually lost out to fifth seed Pegula 6-4. 6-4 in an hour and 37 minutes.
The British No.3 had five break points to draw level in the second set but failed to convert as the recent Charleston champion served out the victory in Madrid.
Despite the loss, it's clear Boulter is finding her confidence on the clay having reached the quarter-final in Rouen and recording a first round win over Taylor Townsend just a couple of days ago.
She will move on to play the Italian Open next before Roland Garros gets underway at the end of May.
You can watch all matches at the Mutua Madrid Open live on Sky Sports and NOW TV.
