Norrie entered last month’s French Open and said he had been playing some of his best tennis balls during his clay swing and believed he was at a similar level to the top ten players three years ago.
His comments came after he fell to the bottom of the top 100 – and it caught the attention at the time, but ultimately proved to be correct.
The unforgettable five-set victory over former world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev followed by a win in Argentina qualifiers Federico Gomez and Briton Jacob Fearnley before then before the last 16 against Novak Djokovic.
At Roland Garros, he describes his level as “old Norrie” and the way he wears out Jarry is another example because he does better here.
Jarry has affected his balance and vision due to ear conditions, but has brought everyone a reminder of his talent in six wins over the past two weeks, including two first-round wins over the eighth-seeded Holger Rune.
The opportunity to serve with the No. 143rd World man was hard to get, and Norry took the first set chance clinically and broke 5-3 before serving.
The nervous second set offers even fewer opportunities for any man, but Norrie hits the pivotal moment.
He got aggression when he returned from serving at the start of the tiebreak, which led to a mini-explosion he never gave up and proved bold and brilliant with a precise cross-court championship.
The third and fourth groups are similarly balanced. With Jarry offering large and Norrie scrap, it always feels that they might be decided by tiebreakers.
Norrie led 4-2 but couldn’t turn his advantage due to Jarry’s roar, but he eventually relocated his opponent’s resistance after an early hit by the decision makers.
It sparked a joyful scene in the partisan atmosphere in the court, with Norrie now winning nine of his 10 professional games.
