Cameron Norrie bids for revenge against Alexander Zverev in an Australian Open third-round clash on Friday.
Norrie, once again the last Briton standing in the singles of a grand slam, lost to Zverev in a final-set tiebreak when they previously met at the fourth round of this tournament in 2024. That year, Norrie also lost to Zverev in the third round of Wimbledon.
Norrie, the 26th seed, survived an ill-timed rain delay to defeat Emilio Nava and close out a 6-1 7-6 (3) 4-6 7-6 (5) victory in the second round, and is relishing the opportunity to be the underdog against the world No 3 and last year’s Australian Open runner-up, even though he has lost all six of his matches against the German.
“I’m excited to play against him. I think it’s nice being the underdog again,” Norrie said. “To go and play him, nothing to lose. I want to take it to him, just rest up, get to hopefully enjoy another amazing atmosphere like I did today.
“I think I can trouble him. I’m going to have to really play complete match and play well for four hours I think to have a chance with him.”
When is Norrie v Zverev?
The Australian Open third round match will not start before 7:30am GMT (UK time) on Friday 23 January. It could be slightly later than that depending on previous match between Iva Jovic and Jasmine Paolini on the John Cain Arena.
Friday’s order of play
John Cain Arena
12:30 AM GMT
- Victoria Mboko (CAN) [17] vs. Clara Tauson (DEN) [14]
- Tommy Paul (USA) [19] vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (ESP) [14]
6:00 AM GMT
Is the Australian Open on TV?
The tournament will be shown live on TNT Sports in the UK as well as online on Discovery+.
In the US, it will be shown live on ESPN and Tennis Channel.
What has Norrie said?
“So excited. He’s one of the most consistent players on the tour. I think he loves playing me. Every time we play we have such high-level matches. He always beats me. The last maybe four or five times.
“We always have close sets, close matches. I played him fourth round here, lost 7-6 in the fifth. But he’s one of the best competitors out there. I’m excited. I’m feeling good.
“I think I can trouble him, for sure. I’m going to have to really play a complete match and play well for four hours to have a chance with him. I really can take a lot of confidence from the first three weeks of the year, how I’m managing my service games, how I’m putting a lot of returns in court.
“I feel like I’m there every single point. I know that’s more kind of my trademark, to be there every point. I think I’ve been doing a really good job with that. I think that’s the reason why I won today. My tennis has been there. I’ve been feeling the ball great. I think mentally I’m feeling in a good place.”
