Cameron Norrie breezes through to Wimbledon second week as Brit brushes aside Mattia Bellucci in straight sets
Former British number one Norrie looked to be yesterday's man as he fell into the shadow of
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Cameron Norrie is flying the flag for British's men's tennis
Credit: Getty
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Mattia Bellucci shocked Jiri Lehecka in the last round - but Norrie was too much
Credit: AP
But while Draper was a second round casualty,
It was not, by any means, a vintage performance, especially in the opening stages.
But after bouncing back from a horror start, when he was broken to love in his opening service game and faced three more break points at the start of his next, Norrie took charge.
As the Court One fans began to return after digesting
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Norrie was never behind in the breaker, making the crucial mini-break with a stunning backhand pass from way behind his own baseline to nudge in front after 67 minutes.
And when he broke the Italian in the opening game of the second, taking full toll of successive Bellucci double faults, it looked like things were only heading in one direction.
Not at this Wimbledon, where you can take nothing for granted.
Norrie, 40-0 up and set to be three games to the good, dropped his service only to rapidly break back as his baseline scrambling and heavy slice prompted errors from his opponent, with his fifth ace of the match ensuring there were no further costly mistakes.
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Now it was about holding his nerve and waiting for the moment.
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Norrie pounced in the third game, drilling a forehand past the stranded Italian after he refused to give up on a point he should never have won.
There really was no way back and Bellucci lacked heart and hope before, after a stumble at 5-1, Norrie completed victory when his opponent overhit on his forehand once more.
Norrie urged All England Club bosses to break protocol and not move his last 16 clash on Sunday to Centre Court.
He said: 'It's impossible to say how much I love No 1 Court.
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'When I saw the schedule I was really happy.
'Hopefully I can play my next match here - I don't know, maybe play all my matches here. It was good fun.'
The last Brit man standing added: 'The fans were such a big factor - I want to thank you guys for that.
'I started a bit over-confident and stole the first set. I found a way to weather the storm.
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'That was probably better for me and I played a good tie-break.'
Asked about his lonely status on the men's side, Norrie insisted: 'I honestly don't care about that too much.
'I was just enjoying playing point for point in this amazing atmosphere back on this court.
'But apparently I am the last man standing. So I will take that.'
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