Novak Djokovic brought Cameron Norrie’s promising French Open campaign to a halt with a commanding straight-sets win, advancing to the quarter-finals in Paris.
The Serbian star, chasing a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam singles title, eased past Norrie 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 on Monday.
Norrie, ranked 81st in the world, was appearing in the last 16 at Roland Garros for the first time and had raised hopes with a stunning first-round upset over 11th seed Daniil Medvedev.
However, against the 38-year-old Djokovic, he struggled to replicate that level and never truly threatened an upset.
Despite holding a break lead in the second set, Norrie failed to capitalise, allowing Djokovic to regain control.
“I was a little bit flat in some moments and I think that was the difference,” Norrie admitted. “I don’t see too much evolution with Novak – he’s still not missing tennis balls.”
Djokovic, seeded sixth, will now face third seed Alexander Zverev in a highly anticipated quarter-final clash. The two last met in the Australian Open semi-finals in January, where Zverev prevailed as Djokovic battled a hamstring injury.
Later in the day, Jack Draper’s four-set defeat to Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik ended British hopes in the singles draw at this year’s French Open.
