British No. 1 Cameron Norrie suffered a straight-sets defeat to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the first round of the LTA's HSBC Championships at Queen's Club, failing to mark his return from injury with a victory.
Norrie lost 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 on the Andy Murray Arena, with the Spaniard producing a scintillating performance. The 30-year-old London-based player had withdrawn from the French Open due to a swollen rib but recovered in time for the grass-court season.
“I started well and thought the level was really high. It was one of my better matches at Queen’s,” Norrie reflected. “He came up with some big shots in key moments, and he served really well on the tie break. Then I was sluggish in the beginning of the second set.”
He added: “There was maybe a bit of disappointment from the first set going into the second, and he played amazing to finish the match, so credit to him.”
Norrie is confident his injury is behind him as he looks ahead to Wimbledon. “The rib feels great, it feels better. I took a nice break, and it was nice to play a match not thinking about my body,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of time now to prepare for Wimbledon. I’m going to have to be patient and get ready.”
The British No. 1 reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon in 2022, his best Grand Slam performance, beating Tommy Paul before losing to Novak Djokovic in four sets. He hopes to better that run this summer and deliver a more fitting display for the home crowd.
“It was such a nice afternoon. They tried to get behind me, but I couldn’t give them enough firepower, so it was really special,” Norrie added.
