Cameron Norrie’s hopes of reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open for the first time ended with a five-set loss to the Czech youngster Jiri Lehecka.
The British No 1 struggled initially in breezy conditions but looked to be on the right path when he opened up a two sets to one lead. But the 21-year-old Lehecka, ranked 71 in the world, battled back and Norrie took a medical timeout for treatment to his left knee early in the fifth set before falling to a 6-7 (8), 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 defeat.
It will be a big disappointment for Norrie, who beat Lehecka on his way to the final of the ATP tournament in his home town of Auckland last week and had started the season by defeating Rafael Nadal and Taylor Fritz at the United Cup.
Lehecka possesses a big serve and forehand and had the better of the first set, forcing Norrie to save three break points, but could not convert a 6-4 lead in the tie-break. Norrie showed his competitive desire to save three set points, the first with a fine pass down the line, and clinched his second opportunity.
But the 27-year-old was not playing well, missing time and again with his forehand, and Lehecka held on to an early break to claim the second set. Norrie appeared to have found his range in the third, making only six unforced errors compared to 27 in the first two sets, but the momentum switched around again at the start of the fourth.
The 11th seed was in big trouble when he dropped serve again in the first game of the decider and called the trainer to have his left knee taped up.
Norrie fought hard to try to find a way back after going a double break down but he was unable to conjure the same magic as Andy Murray and Lehecka served the match out to love for the biggest moment of his young career.
Stefanos Tsitsipas continued his serene progress through the draw to set up a rematch with Jannik Sinner in the fourth round. The Greek third seed is the highest-ranked player remaining after the exits of Rafael Nadal and Casper Ruud and arrived in Melbourne full of confidence following an unbeaten start to the season. He is yet to drop a set and defeated another in-form player in the Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor, 6-2, 7-6 (5), 6-3.
Tsitsipas has made the semi-finals in three of the previous four years at Melbourne Park and is hoping to seize his chance of going further this time. He said: “I’ve never been making predictions because the sport that I chose to play is unpredictable. Of course, there are favourites. Everyone knows that.
“If my mind is not there, doesn’t matter who I’m playing. If I’m not able to generate good shots, hit big shots at important moments, be daring at important moments, it doesn’t matter who’s on the other side of the net.
“It’s always up to me. I believe there are no presents. You should be going after it, you should be creating those opportunities, and aiming big within yourself, sometimes surpass your own abilities. That is something that I enjoy. When I see myself getting beyond that, it is a very beautiful feeling.”
His first big test will come in the fourth round against Italian 15th seed Sinner, who became the latest player to fight back from two sets down in a 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-0 victory over Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics.
Tsitsipas and Sinner have played five times before, including in the quarter-finals here last year, when the Greek won in straight sets. Sinner, 21, said: “I’m looking forward always for these kind of matches, knowing that he is one of the best players in the world. But I’ve changed a little bit for sure my game. It’s going to be hopefully a good match. We’ll see how it goes this year.”
Mackenzie McDonald was unable to follow up his big victory over Nadal, struggling with an injury himself and resorting to underarm serves in a 7-6 (6), 6-3, 6-2 loss to the 31st seed, Yoshihito Nishioka.
