Having split their two previous H2H meetings in Lyon and Paris, it felt fitting that Cameron Norrie would show his steely resolve on the road back from niggling injuries and outlast Corentin Moutet to reach his first ATP tour-level final for almost two years as the arduous 2024 calendar grinds to a close.
Norrie-Bonzi set after rousing semi-final victory
- Norrie displays his typical fighting spirit, recovering from 5-2 down in set two tiebreak to win 7-5 and reach his 15th ATP tour-level final
- Uncanny coincidence! British number two will play another Frenchman in qualifier Benjamin Bonzi, who beat Roberto Bautista Agut and second seed Casper Ruud en route to his third ATP final. This marks his first since the same month Norrie last won his against Carlos Alcaraz in Rio
- Missing some firepower: Andrey Rublev, the tournament’s top seed, withdrew before his proposed quarter-final vs. Moutet while Grigor Dimitrov, Holger Rune and last year’s champion Ugo Humbert all withdrew from the year’s final ATP250 event before play began this week
Norrie bt. Moutet 6-2, 7-6 (7-5)
CAMERON Norrie will return to the world’s top-50 rankings next week after punching his ticket into a first ATP final since February 2023, holding his nerve against a home hopeful in the unpredictable Corentin Moutet at the Moselle Open. The straight-sets victory sees the 29-year-old’s steady surge following troublesome injuries continue.
I spoke to the 2022 Wimbledon semifinalist last month before his return in Roanne, then still rehabbing a troublesome forearm injury that saw him miss several big events over the summer months, including the Paris Olympics and US Open.
Helpless spectator… Since July, injuries have seen Norrie miss:
Olympic Games in Paris
Canadian Open, Cincinnati Open, Shanghai (Masters 1000)
US Open and Davis Cup Finals group stage with Team GB
Beijing, Tokyo tournaments (ATP 500)
Having last featured in Bastad on red clay three months earlier, where he lost to the legendary figure of a retiring Rafael Nadal in the last-16, this was a big change after an extended period on the sidelines where his ranking naturally suffered.
Victories over Etienne Donnet and Stefano Travaglia on the Challenger circuit were sharply tempered by a four-match losing streak, starting with talented 20-year-old Luca Van Assche while Miomir Kecmanovic (Stockholm), Frances Tiafoe (Vienna) and Quentin Halys (Paris) all beat him in straight-sets on his return to the big leagues.
This week though, he recovered from a set down to topple Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena, avenged his Van Assche defeat in three sets two days later before grinding out deceptively impressive victories over Belgium’s Zizou Bergs and now Moutet on the 25-year-old’s home turf – two years, almost to the day, since their indoor epic.
In true fashion for a man who prefers to let his tennis do the talking and has built up years of consistency on tour, Norrie rather looked for perspective when assessing the milestone after a difficult calendar year on the court. As quoted by the BBC, he said: “It’s not really a relief [to reach the final], I’ve not been able to gain any momentum, it’s nice to finish the year playing in another final, back to competing for every point.”
Picture source: Getty Images, quotes hyperlinked
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