Cameron Norrie Advances at Moselle Open, Fearnley Exits Early in Athens
Cameron Norrie defeated France’s Valentin Royer to reach the second round of the Moselle Open in Metz, while fellow Briton Jacob Fearnley was eliminated early in Athens.
World number 27 Norrie faced a tough challenge from the in-form Royer, who dominated the second-set tie-break. However, the seventh seed recovered to claim a 6-3, 6-7 (2-7), 6-3 victory at the French tournament. The British number two, who recently defeated then world number one Carlos Alcaraz, described that win as the biggest of his career. Norrie is set to meet another French player, Arthur Cazaux, in his next match as he seeks his first ATP Tour title since 2023.
“The whole match was not easy,” Norrie said. “It’s [Royer’s] first proper year on the tour and he has almost reached the top 50. I had to fight hard.”
Earlier in the same tournament, Britain’s Jan Choinski was defeated 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 by Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego. Meanwhile, in Athens, British number three Jacob Fearnley lost 6-4, 6-2 to Bosnia’s Damir Dzumhur at another ATP 250 event held during the final week of the regular season.
Attention now turns to Lorenzo Musetti’s performance in Athens, as the last ATP Finals qualifying spot remains undecided.
Author’s summary:
Norrie advanced to the Moselle Open second round after a hard-fought win, while Fearnley and Choinski were both knocked out in their respective tournaments.