Cameron Norrie beat British rival Jacob Fearnley in the third round of the French Open, with his focus interrupting amid loud fireworks outside the Paris Saint-Germain Stadium.
Norrie, 29, was replaced by Fearnley, 23, as the second place in the UK, but lowered his authority in the 6-3 7-6 (7-1) 6-2 victory.
For much of the game, PSG fans prepared bangs for the Champions League final in Munich against Inter Milan.
“The fireworks next door are hard to manage, and that’s the hardest part for both of us,” Norri said.
“I put down my schoolbag and the referee said, ‘There are only a few fireworks. We will continue to play.”
“I thought that was just some of them in the warm-up, but that was the most random.”
Norrie – played for a while at his best level after a few tough seasons – using his experience to control his own Scots.
The former World 8 managed to conquer France’s open debut Fearnley, which described the noise as “cruel”.
In the case of distraction, No. 55 Fearnley added: “It’s far from ideal, but it’s a lifetime. I know PSG’s playing may be a little more important than this game.
“This is definitely not the reason why I lost the game.”
When Norrie first reached the last 16 of the Clay Grand Slam, Fearnley had a double malfunction at the match point.
The reward could be a meeting with former world No. 1 No. joking Novak Djokovic, who played later on Saturday.
After Britain’s No. 1 Jack Draper surpassed Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca, the French Open will have two British men at the French Open since the opening era in 1968.
