Fresh off defeating the British No. 1 Jack Draper, Cameron Norrie seeks another upset against No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev in their third-round Wimbledon battle on Saturday.
Norrie, recently usurped by his countryman, claimed an unforeseen straight-sets win in the previous round, while Zverev continued his strong start on the lawns of SW19 last time out against Marcos Giron.
Match preview
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Despite having Draper's number in their head-to-head, Norrie was possibly the underdog heading into their second-round match on Thursday, given the former's form on grass preceding the third Slam of the year.
Draper's Tour-level win in Stuttgart took him above Norrie as Britain's top-ranked player, and a victory over defending Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz in Queen's pointed to a deeper run at the Championships, but Norrie had other ideas.
The No. 42-ranked player needed two tie-breaks to edge out his younger opponent 7-6(3), 6-4, 7-6(6) to continue his start without dropping a set in rounds one and two.
This could have changed against Draper, who led 5-2 in the third set, but the 28-year-old reeled off three straight games to prevent his opponent from forcing a fourth set.
First up on Centre Court on Saturday, the 2022 semi-finalist aims to upset the in-form German to advance to the fourth round.
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Overcoming Zverev will be an uphill task, given the No. 4 seed's form on multiple surfaces, underlined by reaching the French Open final and a strong run in Halle weeks back to reach the semi-finals in his home tournament.
While Norrie has made it to a third match at the Championships without dropping a set, the French Open runner-up has been significantly more convincing in defeating Roberto Carballes Baena — 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 — and Giron 6-2, 6-1, 6-4.
The disappointment of losing a thrilling five-setter to Carlos Alcaraz on Court Philippe-Chatrier weeks back has gratifyingly not affected the 27-year-old, who aims to make his mark at the All England Club this year.
Despite twice reaching the semis in Australia, three semis and a final in Paris and the last four and decider in New York, Zverev has never gone past the fourth on the lawns of Wimbledon.
Given the form shown in the pre-Championships tournament in Halle and the performances in the opening two rounds, the No. 4 seed hopes to crack it this year with a deeper run.
Tournament so far
Cameron Norrie:
First round: vs. Facundo Diaz Acosta 7-5 7-5 6-3
Second round: vs. Jack Draper 7-6[3] 6-4 7-6[6]
Alexander Zverev:
First round: vs. Roberto Carballes Baena 6-2 6-4 6-2
Second round: vs. Marcos Giron 6-2, 6-1, 6-4
Head To Head
Acapulco (2019) - Semi-final: Zverev 7-6(0) 6-3
Masters 1000 Canada (2019) - Round of 32: Zverev 7-6(4) 6-4
ATP Cup (2022) - Round Robin: Zverev 7-6(2) 6-1
Vienna (2023) - Round of 16: Zverez 6-2 6-4
Australian Open (2024) - Round of 16: Zverev 7-5 3-6 6-3 4-6 7-6(3)
These two have gone head-to-head five times with Zverev triumphing each time.
Interestingly, every match-up has been on hard courts, with their latest encounter coming in the round of 16 Down Under, where the German clinched in a thrilling five-setter.
It was the first time the Briton and German faced off at any of the majors, and Norrie hopes to build on finally pushing the No. 4 seed in their last tussle after losing the four preceding matches in straight sets.
Having claimed 10 wins over players ranked in the top 10 when the matches were played, the Briton hopes to record an 11th against Zverev on home soil.
We say: Zverev to win in four sets
While Norrie will hope to claim another victory over a highly-ranked opponent and also have the advantage of a partisan crowd on Centre Court willing him on, Zverev's undoubted form on the grass at present should see him claim a win in four sets.
