Cameron Norrie falls to Alexander Zverev to end hopeless British charge at Australian Open

British interest in the Australian Open singles events is over for another year, after Cameron Norrie was defeated in four sets by world No 3 Alexander Zverev.

To Norrie’s great credit, this was the 14th time at a major that he had outlasted every other Briton. He has become comfortably the most dependable performer of his generation. But the 6ft 6in Zverev, who showed excellent form, represents the highest of high hurdles.

The match-up has never favoured Norrie, who came in without a single win over Zverev in six previous attempts. The key factor in their non-rivalry is Zverev’s silky-smooth backhand, which refuses to break down, no matter how often Norrie targets it with his cross-court lefty forehand.

Norrie made an encouraging start when he broke the mighty Zverev serve at the very first opportunity. In these early stages, Norrie showed admirable ambition as he fired a series of scorching winners past his stranded opponent.

But Zverev knows better than most that best-of-five-set tennis is about patience as much as scintillating strokeplay. Norrie had opened with an unsustainable level of brilliance, which would not hold up over the long run. Sure enough, Norrie’s bold determination to come forward and volley was eventually exposed as Zverev picked him off at the net to land the first set.