Cameron Norrie not allowing Carlos Alcaraz to dominate his mindset

French Open
Cameron Norrie tennis

Cameron Norrie insists he is not deterred by the potential of facing top seed Carlos Alcaraz as he attempts to advance to the fourth round of the French Open for the first time.

The French Open third-round opponent lying in wait for Norrie is Lorenzo Musetti, the 17th-seeded Italian, and he says that his focus is on getting beyond a very good clay court player.

Also on Friday, Spain’s Alcaraz takes on Canadian 26th seed Denis Shapovalov and the winners will go on to meet either Norrie or Musetti in the last 16.

“I saw it’s Alcaraz but I’m focused on taking it match by match,” said Norrie.

The top-ranked British man Norrie has advanced to the third round of the Roland Garros tournament for the third year in a row after defeating French players Benoit Paire and Lucas Pouille back-to-back.

After losses to the Spanish great Rafael Nadal in 2021 and the Russian 21st seed Karen Khachanov last year, Norrie has yet to go past the Round of 32 on the Paris clay.

When the 27-year-old Briton and Musetti face off third on Court Simonne Mathieu on Fridfay afternoon, it will be yet another tough test for him.

Norrie’s best Grand Slam run came when he reached the Wimbledon semi-finals last year.

The 21-year-old has had a successful clay court run in Europe, winning 10 of his 14 matches and making it all the way to the semifinals in Barcelona.

“It’s a tough match-up because I’d say his favourite surface is clay,” added Norrie who is ranked as the ATP’s No 13.

“He’s a great player, really talented and obviously I lost to him last time.

“I lost a bit of concentration and a bit of focus, and my level dropped a lot, but I was able to figure out ways to win points.

“It will be difficult and I’ll have to come out with the energy I did against Pouille to have a chance.”

Norrie, Alcaraz or their respective third round opponents could face 2021 Roland Garros finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals.

Tsitsipas looked back to his best against Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena, as he overcame a wobble to beat the experienced campaigner 6-3 7-6(4) 6-2.

The Greek No 1 goes on to face Diego Schwartzman on Friday in what could be one of the matches of the day on the Court Suzanne Lenglen.

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