French Open: Cameron Norrie mounts comeback to win five-set thriller against Benoit Paire, Jack Draper retires

ByYara El-Shaboury

Updated 29/05/2023 at 13:26 GMT

Cameron Norrie showed resilience in his remarkable 7-5 4-6 3-6 6-1 6-4 victory over wild card Benoit Paire in the first round of the French Open. Norrie battled against a boisterous home crowd, making a stunning comeback after being on the verge of defeat. Elsewhere, Jack Draper's highly-anticipated debut at the French Open ended in disappointment as he was forced to retire due to injury.

Cameron Norrie displayed impressive resilience in his five-set win against wild card Benoit Paire in the first round of the French Open.

The British No. 1 seemed on the verge of defeat but mounted a comeback, eventually triumphing 7-5 4-6 3-6 6-1 6-4 in a thrilling encounter.

Playing on a packed Court Suzanne-Lenglen, Norrie faced a volatile atmosphere, with Paire receiving the majority of the support and cheers from the home crowd after every successful shot, while Norrie encountered boos when he challenged calls or adjusted his ball toss.

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In the tightly-contested first set, Norrie saved five break points before breaking to secure a 7-5 set victory.

However, momentum shifted in the second set when Norrie lost a point due to a hindrance call, which was deemed a distraction caused by his grunt during the point.

This controversial call was the second incident involving a British player in as many days, following Dan Evans' foot-fault penalty on Sunday. Paire capitalised on the situation, breaking Norrie's serve and taking a 2-1 lead, subsequently fending off three break points to go up 3-1.

'What a finish!' - Norrie whips stunning forehand winner against Paire

Paire then secured the third set with his third break of serve. However, the match took another turn as Norrie swiftly claimed the fourth set 6-1 in just 25 minutes.

In the fifth set, Paire broke Norrie in the opening service game and saved three break points at 2-1. However, Norrie mounted a comeback and sealed victory on his second match point with a forehand winner after a marathon three hours and 33 minutes on court.

“It was an amazing match and all credit to Benoit,” Norrie said after his victory.

“He played really well and we put on a good show. The support for both players was amazing. I had to fight back really hard. It is fortunate that it went my way in the fifth set but I am pleased to get through after a tough one.”

'It was an amazing match' - Norrie basks in beating Paire in epic clash

With his win, Norrie prevented a complete British singles exit from the tournament by Monday afternoon.

Earlier in the day, Jack Draper had retired from his match against Tomas Etcheverry in his French Open debut following Evans' departure from the tournament on Sunday.

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The world No. 55 visibly struggled with his left shoulder in his first-round match with Tomas Etcheverry, using underarm serves to get through the match.

Before taking a medical time-out, he managed to rally back from 4-1 down in the first set to level things and make it 4-4. He then had a break point before the losing the set 6-4.

After seeking treatment, he looked to carry on in the second set, but he soon retired trailing Etcheverry 6-4 1-0.

'Feel for him' - Britain's Draper forced to retire with injury in second set

There are now no British singles players other than Norrie left in Paris after Andy Murray and Kyle Edmund pulled out, while no women qualified for the main draw.

Draper only recently returned from a hip injury and has spent a large amount of time out this season due to abdominal problems.

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Stream the 2023 French Open live on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at eurosport.com

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