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Queen's Club 2018: Britain's Cameron Norrie loses to Stan Wawrinka

  • Posted: Jun 18, 2018
2018 Fever-Tree Championships on the BBC
Venue: Queen’s Club, London Dates: 18-24 June
Coverage: Watch live on BBC Two, BBC iPlayer, BBC Red Button, Connected TVs, the BBC Sport website and app. Coverage times

British number two Cameron Norrie was knocked out in the first round of the Fever-Tree Championships at Queen’s Club by Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka.

Three-time Grand Slam champion Wawrinka, who has dropped to 261 in the world after injury, won 6-2 6-3 against the world number 80.

He next faces 2010 champion Sam Querrey, who beat 19-year-old Briton Jay Clarke 6-3 6-3.

Britain’s Andy Murray makes his return to competitive action on Tuesday.

Croatian top seed and 2012 champion Marin Cilic progressed with a 6-3 6-4 win over Spain’s Fernando Verdasco.

Sixth seed Jack Sock of the United States lost 7-5 6-3 to 22-year-old unseeded Russian Daniil Medvedev.

Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller won 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (8-6) against Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov.

  • Watch live BBC TV coverage from Queen’s Club
  • How I recovered from lowest point’ – Murray’s BBC Sport column
  • Live scores, schedule and results

Wawrinka too strong for Norrie

Norrie, 22, has enjoyed a rapid rise this year, climbing into the top 100 for the first time and reaching his first ATP Tour semi-final on the clay in Lyon.

On his way to the last four he earned the biggest win of his career against American world number 10 John Isner, then pushed French number one Lucas Pouille in their French Open second-round match.

But going into Monday’s match against Wawrinka, Norrie had won only two tour-level matches on grass.

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Victory was only Wawrinka’s second on grass in the past three years.

However, his greater pedigree – and power – told as Norrie was far from his best.

Norrie saved a break point in his first service game, only for the powerful Wawrinka to take another opportunity for a 3-1 lead.

Wawrinka dominated the first set, based on some big serving and dominant groundstrokes, and broke again in the final game to wrap up the opener in 27 minutes.

The former Australian Open, French Open and US Open champion broke again early in the second set, going on to seal a comfortable win in less than an hour.

I’m happy to be back healthy and fit – Wawrinka

Wawrinka sat out the second half of the 2017 season after needing knee surgery following his early Wimbledon exit last year, before suffering another setback earlier this year.

Victory over Norrie was only his fifth since his first-round SW19 defeat by Daniil Medvedev in July.

“I’m really happy. It was a really good start – it is never easy, the first match on grass. I served well and I’m happy to be back healthy and fit,” said Wawrinka, who lost in the first round of the French Open last month.

“In general it has been improving and now I feel really good on the court. I feel strong physically.

“I know I will have some ups and downs. I need to be patient, especially mentally, and ready to accept the frustration of not playing my best tennis.”

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Birmingham Classic: Karolina Pliskova beaten by Magdalena Rybarikova in first round

  • Posted: Jun 18, 2018

Third seed Karolina Pliskova was knocked out in the first round of the Nature Valley Classic in Birmingham by former champion Magdalena Rybarikova.

Czech Pliskova, ranked seventh in the world, lost 6-2 6-3 against the Slovakian world number 19.

British wildcard Katie Boulter was beaten 6-1 6-2 by Japan’s Naomi Osaka, the world number 18.

British number one Johanna Konta plays two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova on Tuesday.

Konta is third on the main court and is followed by Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza, who plays Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

British number two Heather Watson is second on court against Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko.

  • Live scores and results

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Queen's 2018: Would technology temper the tennis tantrums?

  • Posted: Jun 18, 2018

Fingers jabbing towards umpires, angry words and racquet smashing are familiar sights on the tennis court.

On Sunday, Britain’s Johanna Konta was the latest player to vent her fury over a line call, shouting at an umpire while playing in the final of the Nature Valley Open in Nottingham: “It’s an absolute joke. You’re making decisions that affect our lives. Do you fully understand that?”

The computer technology exists to coolly, calmly and robotically decide whether a ball was in or out on every line call – removing the need for human line judges on court – but then, where would be the fun in introducing that?

“I prefer to have them there so I can yell at them,” joked Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza when asked if it was time to scrap line judges in favour of electronic line calls with an automated voice.

“Nah, I don’t yell but for sure it would be awkward, you’d miss the people that have the eyes to see it. It would be scary, I’m not a technology person, I don’t have a computer, I don’t like all these things.”

Line judges were replaced by Hawk-Eye technology at the Next Gen Finals in Milan last November, meaning that for the first time at an ATP event the umpire was the only official on court.

Each computer line call was called out by the technology and was final. Players were not able to challenge calls as they do at most tournaments, because the need to do so via Hawk-Eye video replays – where they are allowed three unsuccessful challenges in a set – was deemed redundant.

ATP chief Chris Kermode liked what he saw in the experiment, saying it had sped up play as players heard the call and just got on with it.

But maybe players do not just want to do that – some prefer to make more of an impression. Quite literally in the case of former world number one Karolina Pliskova, who bashed a hole in an umpire’s chair with her racquet frame at the end of a match in Rome last month.

The Czech had argued with officials after having a smash called out, when serving at 30-30 and five games all in the final set against Greece’s Maria Sakkari.

TV replays appeared to show her shot had landed in but reviews on clay rely on physical marks and none were found so Sakkari was awarded the point and went on to win the match.

Pliskova received a four-figure fine for her actions, but would still not have wanted a fully electronic system.

“It should be like it is as it is still a sport and I would not change this,” she told BBC Sport in Birmingham, where she, Muguruza and Konta are part of a strong field playing at the Nature Valley Classic this week as part of their Wimbledon preparations.

“The linesmen do mistakes but you have the challenge so you can challenge the ball if you were not sure if it was out or not. To have everything without people would be a different game.

“I think everybody has problems with referees, with some calls, and that’s why we have the challenge. Mistakes are just part of the game so I would not change it.”

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'New Scottish number one' Norrie happy to have Murray back

  • Posted: Jun 18, 2018
2018 Fever-Tree Championships on the BBC
Venue: Queen’s Club, London Dates: 18-24 June
Coverage: Watch live on BBC Two, BBC iPlayer, BBC Red Button, Connected TVs, the BBC Sport website and app.

It was with tongue firmly in cheek and a glint in his eye that Cameron Norrie announced himself as the new Scottish number one.

He’s come from outside the world’s top 250 to inside the top 80 in under a year. A rise so rapid that, for the first time in his senior career, Andy Murray is no longer the top-ranked Scot on the tennis tour. So does the triple Grand Slam winner mind the new order of things?

“I’ve not asked him,” Norrie replied. “I was going to have a little dig at him when I was playing him but chose not to. But no, I think he’s going to challenge me soon for my ranking.”

  • How I’ve recovered from lowest point – Murray
  • I can still win Grand Slams – Murray

Norrie, 22, has firm grounds for holding that opinion. He’s seen Murray up close and personal for the past few days, having been chosen by the former world number one as a practice partner. He’s adamant Murray is choosing the right time to return to the tour, and was impressed with the practice sets they played against each other.

“We played at a great level a couple of days ago and he actually asked me if I thought he was ready or not,” said Norrie. “I told him that he was and he was moving great and hitting the ball well.

“Obviously he hasn’t played any matches but I think he’s ready. It’s just great to have him back and it’s very nice of him to seek me out and just be on court with him again. You can learn so much from him and his professionalism and the way he does things. He’s just a great idol for British tennis in general.”

Quite a transformation then for Norrie, who 12 months ago had never even met Murray.

“It was exactly this time last year that I was here in the Queen’s locker room and he came up to me and my coach and just introduced himself to us,” Norrie explained.

“I just thought it was very humble of him to do that. It was great to meet him; I’d always wanted to meet him. He’s just a very nice guy, down to earth and it’s great just to have him back in general.”

Both Norrie and Murray have been handed tricky first-round assignments at the newly named Fever-Tree Championships. Murray faces Australia’s Nick Kyrgios on Tuesday while Norrie’s first-round match on Monday is against three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka.

  • Monday’s Queen’s Club schedule of play

‘I’m 100% happy to be claimed as Scottish’

Murray’s main stated aim, however, has been to test his game and his hip, following January’s surgery, by practising with some of the top players. Norrie witnessed first hand the strides the double Wimbledon champion has recently made.

“I hit with him once before, just before Eastbourne last year,” said Norrie. “And he was hitting the ball here just as big as he was then and moving well. He even ended up serving really well in the end. So I feel like his level is there and it’s just going to be a matter of getting matches under his belt and getting a bit of confidence.

“It’s always going to be tough for him coming back but he’s won Grand Slams in the past and he’s been world number one so he’s got the confidence within him to come back and prove to everyone that he can do it again. Let’s just hope his hip holds up. I wish him all the best. It’s just nice to have him around to bounce some ideas off, maybe, if I need something.”

Cosmopolitan is a word that springs to mind when it comes to Norrie.

The 22-year-old was born in South Africa to a Glaswegian father and a Welsh mother. He was raised in New Zealand before going on to play the collegiate tennis circuit in the United States. His father David, however, made sure his allegiance would always remain with Scotland, where he still has family in Aberdeenshire.

“I’m 100% happy to be claimed as Scottish,” Norrie added. “And the new Scottish number one? I’ll take it, for sure. I’ll try to hold on to that as long as I can. We’ll see.”

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