Cameron Norrie Battles Into Madrid Open Third Round After Epic Victory

Briton Cameron Norrie said his gritty victory over Tomas Machac to reach the third round of the Madrid Open was "one of the favourite matches" of his career. Norrie took the opening set in swift fashion before passing up match point in the second, and eventually required a third-set tie-break to win 6-2 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-5). The 30-year-old, who reached the quarter-finals of the Barcelona Open last week, has never made it beyond the third round in the Spanish capital. "I was feeling the ball really well in the first set but it was tough to hang with him in the second and I had to dig deep in the third set when I was down a break," Norrie told Sky Sports. "It was so, so good. It was one of the favourite matches of my career - the atmosphere was so good and it tested me in so many ways. "These are the kind of matches where you can get through them and go on to have a great week." Norrie will play either American Tommy Paul or Argentine Thiago Agustin Tirante next.