Norrie survives Medvedev in a marathon five-set match to advance to the French Open's second round.
In a surprising turn of events at the 2025 French Open, British tennis player Cameron Norrie knocked out five-time Grand Slam runner-up and former US Open champion Daniil Medvedev in the first round. The match, which lasted just under four hours, ended in a thrilling five-set victory for Norrie, ranked 81, with the scoreline reading 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 1-6, 7-5.
Medvedev, the 11th seed, failed to serve out the match at 5-4 in the fifth set, which turned out to be the decisive factor in the contest. Norrie, displaying resilience, fought back from a break down in the decider to claim his first win in five meetings with the Russian.
Speaking after the match, Medvedev expressed his disappointment, stating, "I didn't play good enough. So that's why I lost." Norrie, on the other hand, was overjoyed with his victory. "It's just pure emotion at the end and pure instinct," he said.
Norrie lost to Medvedev two weeks ago in Rome, but he was able to avenge that defeat in impressive fashion at Roland Garros. The 29-year-old Briton will now face Argentina's Federico Gomez in the second round. Gomez rallied past American Aleksandar Kovacevic in their first-round encounter.
Norrie believes his recent semi-final on clay in Geneva against 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic has been beneficial in preparing for the French Open. He sees similarities between his match against Djokovic and his five-set encounter with Medvedev.
The best finish for Medvedev in Paris was the quarter-finals in 2021.
In other notable first-round matches, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and top seed Jannik Sinner progressed to the next round, while Taylor Fritz lost to Daniel Altmaier of Germany.
© 2025 AFP
Russia and sports were mentioned when discussing Norrie's victory over Medvedev, a Russian tennis player, at the 2025 French Open. Norrie's upcoming opponent, Federico Gomez, is from Argentina, signifying an international diversity in the tennis tournament.
