Norrie went back to Carballés in Metz | ATP Tour

Metz

Norrie overcomes Carballés in Metz

His next rival will be Grigor Dimitrov

November 05, 2024

Cameron Norrie has returned to victory on the ATP Tour. This Monday at the Moselle Open he added his first victory in the main draws of the circuit since July in Bastad, when he beat Jozef Kovalik before losing to Rafael Nadal in the second round.

Of course, he should have pushed himself to the maximum to add more at the tour level again. The No. 57 in the PIF ATP Rankings was down a set and a break before winning with sets of 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 against the Spanish Roberto Carballés Baena in the first round of the ATP 250 in Metz.

Carballés, world No. 56, generated a break point in the opening game of the second set, but could not take advantage of it like one of the ones he had at 2-2. However, he could not confirm the break or realize the break opportunity at 3-3.

From there, the former Top 10 did not let go of his dominance of the set, which he took by breaking at 5-4 to force a decider in which he almost never felt dominant. Quite the opposite. He came within a point of being broken in his first two service games. And, in fact, Carballés made the break at 2-2, but could not confirm it in the next game.

The rise of the 31-year-old left-hander was evident at 4-3 and thanks in part to three unforced errors by the Spaniard in that game that led him to lose serve once again. Norrie took advantage of the moment by serving for the match and took the duel after two hours and 16 minutes of play to summon the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov in the second round, third seeded and with whom he has a 2-1 record.

“I was happy with the way I turned things around, it’s good to get a win after my injury,” said Norrie, who injured his forearm and was out of the Olympics and the North American tour on hard courts.

“He fought very hard today, he is a great competitor. I got a little lucky in the third set and had good support. “It was good to cross the line at the end.”

In other results of the day, Richard Gasquet defeated Brazilian Thiago Monteiro to win 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(6) and record his first victory at tour level since May. His next rival will be Alex Michelsen, star of the #NextGenATP and eighth seed.

Resilience personified 👏@richardgasquet1 signs a great comeback, saving an MP, to pass Monteiro 4-6 6-4 7-6(6)@MoselleOpen | #MoselleOpenpic.twitter.com/gqr9U8V2UB

— ATP Tour en Español (@ATPTour_ES) November 4, 2024

“For me it is important to play here, it is the last time I play in Metz, so I want to do well,” said Gasquet, who will retire at the end of Roland Garros 2025. “I am very happy with the way I played, the way I that I felt It all started here [en Metz]. It’s where I reached my first ATP Tour final. “I have very good memories of playing here.”

Furthermore, Pierre-Hugues Herbert dressed as a great local figure in Metz, beating the Spanish Pedro Martínez 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(4) in one of the most vibrant matches of the day. The Frenchman, who had not achieved ATP Tour victories since reaching the semifinals in the last edition of the tournament, captured the match after two hours and 34 minutes of effort.

In a week that promises emotions on the surface, the challenges will not take long to arrive for one of the great local hopes. Herbert will play the second round against his compatriot Quentin Halys, a 6-3, 6-1 winner over #NextGenATP Theo Papamalamis, present in his first ATP Tour final draw at just 18 years old.

In a day full of action, the Italian Lorenzo Sonego also advanced to the round of 16, after defeating the French lucky loser Gregoire Barrere 6-4, 7-5. The Turin native will face the top seed Andrey Rublev in the second round, who this week aims to confirm the first qualification of his career to the Nitto ATP Finals.

Among Monday’s winners also appeared the seventh seed Jan-Lennard Struff, who came back 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 against Kazakh Alexander Shevchenko after securing 41% of the points from the rest. The German will face the unpredictable local talent Corentin Moutet looking for a place in the quarterfinals.

Did you know that…?
Only one Hispanic player has won the title in the history of this event created in 2003. It was the Spanish Tommy Robredo in the 2007 edition, when he defeated Andy Murray in the final and despite having lost the first set 6-0.