By Rory Carroll
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Cameron Norrie beat Benoit Paire 6-0 7-6(1) 6-0 in a strange first-round clash at the U.S. Open on Tuesday, where the Frenchman at times appeared not to be making maximum effort and play was stopped when a fan required medical attention.
The first set was all one-way traffic as the seventh-seeded Briton took advantage of Paire’s errors to bagel him in just 18 minutes.
Paire stepped up his game in the second set when play was briefly halted amid sweltering conditions for the distressed fan, and he even had a chance to level the match when he served leading 5-3.
But the veteran could not capitalise and was broken in the next game and out gunned in the one-sided tiebreak.
The final set lasted just 15 minutes as Paire appeared content to make his exit from the tournament in New York.
Norrie was bounced out of the year’s final Grand slam in the first round last year and has never made it past the third round.
He has, however, enjoyed success on American hardcourts including winning at Indian Wells in 2021 and claiming the Delray Beach title in February.
Norrie, who improved his win-loss record to 42-19 for the year, will next face Portuguese Joao Sousa or American Mackenzie McDonald in the second round.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in New York; Editing by Toby Davis)
