Cameron Norrie wins only seven games as Brits are wiped out at Roland Garros

ROLAND GARROS — The Great British “challenge” at the French Open came to an end with something of a whimper rather than a bang as Cameron Norrie admitted he was disappointed to be beaten 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 by Lorenzo Musetti in the third round.

Norrie was the sole remaining British player in either singles player by Monday afternoon as Dan Evans was beaten in the first round and Jack Draper was struck down by injury.

But the British No 1 was broken five times in eight service games by the 21-year-old Musetti at one point, and ended up equalling his second-worst ever grand slam performance in terms of games won.

With no women’s entrants in the singles, and 10 players failing to make it through qualifying, Norrie’s tame exit caps off one of the worst performances at Roland Garros in recent memory.

“I came out very flat and I was really disappointed with the attitude the first couple of sets,” Norrie said.

“For me, yeah, I can play bad and everything, but I was just very flat and disappointed to have a performance like that.

“The first two sets he didn’t really do too much, and he was up two sets to love. For a player like myself, I can’t afford to give that much of an edge.”

Norrie appeared to be struggling with the conditions on Simonne Mathieu on a day that was noticeably colder than the rest of the week, and admitted he had not come suitably prepared.

“I was changing racquets throughout the match. I guess I should have sent racquets [to be restrung] earlier on,” Norrie added.

“It was heavier, slower conditions, and I didn’t prepare as well as I could.”

He will now return to the UK to start training on the grass before playing Queen’s and Wimbledon.

Meanwhile back in Paris, there was more for the Italians to celebrate as Lorenzo Sonego pulled off a shock, coming from two sets down to beat No 7 seed Andrey Rublev.

Sonego won just five games in the opening two sets, before turning the match around and sealing victory after nearly four hours on court.

“I think this is my most difficult win of my career, for sure,” Sonego said.

“I never won a match two sets down, and this my first time I win a match like that. I’m really happy for that.”

Earlier, No 3 seed Novak Djokovic had come through a tough encounter with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in which he had to battle the wind, his body and the crowd as well as a game performance from the entertaining Spaniard.

“I think majority of the people comes to enjoy tennis or support one or the other player,” Djokovic said.

“But there are individuals, there are people, there are groups or whatever, that love to boo every single thing you do.

“That’s something that I find disrespectful and I frankly don’t understand that. But it’s their right. They paid the ticket. They can do whatever they want.”

He did however shrug off any suggestion that injury was a concern, despite receiving ice and treatment on his left thigh during the match.

“Reality for me nowadays is that my body is responding differently than it did few years ago,” Djokovic said.

“I have to adjust to this new reality. But at the end of the day, I managed to finish the match. And on the court you try to do your best, everything possible, so you can finish the match and win. That’s what happened in the end.”

French Open results, day 6

Men’s singles

• Karen Khachanov (11), Russia, beat Thanasi Kokkinakis, Australia, 6-4, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (5).
• Lorenzo Sonego, Italy, beat Andrey Rublev (7), Russia, 5-7, 0-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3.
• Sebastian Ofner, Austria, beat Fabio Fognini, Italy, 5-7, 6-3, 7-5, 1-6, 6-4.
• Novak Djokovic (3), Serbia, beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (29), Spain, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5), 6-2.
• Lorenzo Musetti (17), Italy, beat Cameron Norrie (14), Britain, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.

Women’s singles

• Daria Kasatkina (9), Russia, beat Peyton Stearns, United States, 6-0, 6-1.
• Elise Mertens (28), Belgium, beat Jessica Pegula (3), United States, 6-1, 6-3.
• Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Russia, beat Anastasia Potapova (24), Russia, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0.
• Aryna Sabalenka (2), Belarus, beat Kamilla Rakhimova, Russia, 6-2, 6-2.
• Elina Svitolina, Ukraine, beat Anna Blinkova, Russia, 2-6, 6-2, 7-5.
• Elina Avanesyan, Russia, beat Clara Tauson, Denmark, 3-6, 6-1, 7-5.
• Sloane Stephens, United States, beat Yulia Putintseva, Kazakhstan, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.