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.
Norrie set the tone when breaking in the opening game of the match before wrapping up the set in 36 minutes.
But the rest of the clay contest unfolded in dramatically contrasting circumstances.
Machac steadied the ship in the second and drew level after saving match point in the tie-break.
The Czech had ample chances to book his spot in the next round but let Norrie off the hook far too many times – taking just one of his 12 break point opportunities.
Norrie found himself a break down and staring at an early exit as Machac served for the match, but he dug deep to break back and held his nerve in the tie-break.
Earlier, world number one Jannik Sinner came from a set down to beat France’s Benjamin Bonzi 6-7 (6-8) 6-1 6-4.
It is Sinner’s 18th successive victory after lifting titles at Indian Wells, the Miami Open and the Monte Carlo Masters.
The Italian, who has won 27 ATP Tour events, is seeking his first at the Madrid Open and will face Danish qualifier Elmer Moller in round three.
Russia’s Andrey Rublev, who won the tournament in 2024, fell to a surprise 6-3 6-4 defeat against Czech world number 66 Vit Kopriva.
Croatian Dino Prizmic also pulled off an upset with a 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-5) win over American world number world number six Ben Shelton.
Kazakh Elena Rybakina, ranked second in the world, overcame a difficult start to beat Romania’s Elena Gabriela Ruse 4-6 6-3 7-5.
World number three Coco Gauff returned from her quarter-final exit at the Stuttgart Open with an emphatic 6-3 6-0 victory against Leolia Jeanjean.
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