An intriguing battle will take place in the fourth round of the Australian Open on Monday, with Britain's number one Cameron Norrie facing off against Alexander Zverev for a spot in the quarter-finals.
Norrie navigated his way past the tricky Casper Ruud in the third round of the competition, while Zverev booked his spot at this stage of the tournament courtesy of a three-set success over Alex Michelsen.
Match preview
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Norrie called his display against Ruud in the last round of the competition 'one of his best in a Grand Slam', and the victory moved him into the last-16 stage of the Australian Open for the first time.
The 28-year-old's best Grand Slam performance came at Wimbledon in 2022, when he reached the semi-finals, but that is the only time that he has advanced past the fourth round of a major tournament, so there is plenty for him to fight for as he prepares to lock horns with the dangerous Zverev.
Norrie, who is currently world number 22, dispatched Juan Pablo Varillas in three sets in the first round of this season's competition, but he found the Italian Giulio Zeppieri to be a tricky opponent in round two.
Zeppieri took the opening two sets, but Norrie showed character to win the next three to set up a contest with Ruud, who was the favourite to advance to the next stage.
Norrie took the first set 6-4 before Ruud won a tie-break to level it up at 1-1, but the Brit then claimed the next two sets 6-4 6-3, and it will go down as comfortably one of his best wins, with the number 19 seed managing to beat an opponent in the top 20 at a Grand Slam for just the second time in 12 attempts.
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Zverev, meanwhile, will be seeking a fifth straight victory over Norrie, with the 26-year-old recording a two-set win when the two men last locked horns in the last-16 stage of the Vienna Open.
The number six in the world was not at his best in the opening two rounds of the competition, needing four sets to beat Dominik Koepfer in the first round, before he was involved in a five-set thriller with Lukas Klein.
Zverev actually trailed 2-1 in sets in the second round, but he won a crucial tie-break to make it 2-2 before winning another in the fifth set to navigate his way into the third round, which proved to be more comfortable, beating the American Michelsen in three sets.
The number six seed reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open in 2020, while he is also a three-time semi-finalist at the French Open and a finalist in the US Open back in 2020.
Novak Djokovic is going to take some stopping in this year's competition, but Zverev is a tricky operator and certainly has the skill-set to cause every opponent he takes on problems.
Tournament so far
Alexander Zverev:
First round: vs. Dominik Koepfer 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7-3) 6-3
Second round: vs. Lukas Klein 7-5 3-6 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (10-7)
Third round: vs. Alex Michelsen 6-2 7-6 (7-4) 6-2
Cameron Norrie:
First round: vs. Juan Pablo Varillas 6-4 6-4 6-2
Second round: vs. Giulio Zeppieri 3-6 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 6-4 6-4
Third round: vs. Casper Ruud 6-4 6-7 (7-9) 6-4 6-3
Head To Head
Canada F6 (2013) - Round of 32: Norrie wins 7-6 (7-2) 6-3
West Lakes (2014) - Third round qualifying: Norrie wins 6-2 6-3
Mexican Open (2019) - Semi-final: Zverev wins 7-6 (7-0) 6-3
Canadian Open (2019) - Round of 32: Zverev wins 7-6 (7-4) 6-4
ATP Cup (2022) - Group stage: Zverev wins 7-6 (7-2) 6-1
Vienna Open (2023) - Round of 16: Zverev wins 6-2 6-4
Norrie managed to triumph in the opening two contests between the two players, which came in 2013 and 2014 respectively, but Zverev has been in charge in their last four encounters.
Indeed, the German has not dropped a set against Norrie during his four straight wins, with their last meeting coming at the Vienna Open in 2023, with Zverev proving to be too strong for the Brit.
Norrie has never really been close in the tie-breakers between the two, which is a concern, and there is no question that Zverev will be the favourite to advance into the quarter-finals.
We say: Zverev to win in four sets
Norrie will be feeling good about himself after the win over Ruud, and his performance at the net in the third round was hugely impressive.
The Brit should be good enough to win a set on Monday if he plays anywhere near how he performed against Ruud, but Zverev's fierce backhand could prove to be key in this clash, and we are fully expecting the 26-year-old to secure his spot in the quarter-finals of the tournament.
Matt Law
