Mutua Madrid Open 2026: Cam Norrie to face Jannik Sinner in fourth round
• 2 minute read
Cam Norrie is safely through to the fourth round of the Mutua Madrid Open with a straight sets win over Thiago Agustin Tirante – setting up a clash with world No.1 Jannik Sinner.
Norrie beat the big-serving Argentinian 7-5, 7-6(5) in an hour and 48 minutes to reach the round of 16 in Madrid for the second time in his career and first since 2022.
The British No.1 now faces top seed Sinner in what is set to be their first meeting.
Sinner is currently on one of the all-time great runs at ATP Masters 1000 level having won three back-to-back titles in Indian Wells, Miami and Monte Carlo.
Norrie will go into the match with confidence of his own as the most recent British player to defeat a world No.1 – knocking our Carlos Alcaraz at last year’s Rolex Paris Masters.
“I’ve never played him, which is crazy,” Norrie said on his fourth round match against Sinner. “We’ve been on the tour together for maybe five years now. I’m excited to play him.
“He’s really confident, probably the most confident player in tennis right now. I’m going to take it to him. I’m just going to play my game, play the ball in front of me.”
The British star has plenty to feel good about his game on the clay right now, coming off the back of a solid victory over Tirante, as well as an equally positive first round win over Tomas Machac.
With Tirante’s serve dealing damage early in their third round match, Norrie fought well to stay with him and wait patiently for his opportunity to come.
Serving to stay in the set at 6-5, Tirante showed his first signs of nerves and the Brit was quick to capitalise, crunching a backhand down the line to tie up the set with the only break of the match.
With no break points in the second set, the two battled on to a tie-break where Norrie showed his quality when he needed it most.
At 5-5 and facing the Argentinian’s serve, Norrie connected on an aggressive forehand to force a crucial error. The Briton kept his nerve to serve out the match and set up a clash with Sinner.
“It was tricky, I hadn’t played in the stadium courts here yet, not even practice,” Norrie said. “It was tough to get the range because his serve was kicking so much. I managed to dig deep when I needed to an play well in the big moments and that was the difference.”
Norrie will play Sinner at the Mutua Madrid Open on Tuesday 28 April with live coverage on Sky Sports and NOW TV.
