Norrie wins to set up first career meeting with Sinner in Madrid Open

Cameron Norrie has never played Jannik Sinner in a professional match; in the women's draw Coco Gauff overcame a stomach bug to advance; Watch the Mutua Madrid Open live on Sky Sports Tennis and Sky Sports+, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app

Sunday 26 April 2026 21:19, UK

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Cameron Norrie set up a first ever meeting with Jannik Sinner after battling into the fourth round of the Madrid Open with a 7-5 7-6 (7-5) victory over Thiago Agustin Tirante on Sunday.

While Norrie has faced Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic on multiple occasions, he has oddly never played world No 1 Sinner.

That will change on Tuesday when the 30-year-old will look to halt Sinner's 19-match winning streak and make the quarter-finals in Madrid for the first time.

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"I'm excited to play him [Sinner] but every time we practice he rips me up," Norrie told Sky Sports.

"He's probably the most confident player in tennis right now but I just need to play my game. He'll be tough to play against but I'm excited for it."

Having survived a near three-hour battle against Tomas Machac in the second round, Norrie managed to see off big-serving Tirante in straight sets, albeit the Argentine was competitive in both.

It was a contest of few chances but Norrie converted his third opportunity to break in the 12th game of the opening set with a backhand winner and then clinched his first match point in a nervy second-set tie-break.

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Tirante, ranked 75th in the world, sent down a serve measured at 149 miles per hour in the sixth game but was unable to create any break points on the Norrie serve.

World No 3 Coco Gauff fought off more than just her opponent at the Madrid Open ‌on Sunday, overcoming illness to beat Sorana Cirstea to advance to the last 16.

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Despite struggling with a stomach virus, leading to the American vomiting into a bin midway through the second set, Gauff fought back to claim a 4-6 7-5 6-1 victory.

Several players have appeared to have been battling a bug at the tournament, including six-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek, who said she had "zero stability and zero energy" after retiring from her match against Ann Li on Saturday.

"Honestly, I was just trying to finish the match and one point turned into another," said Gauff, who finished runner-up in Madrid and ​Rome last year before winning the French Open.

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"I think I ⁠got what everybody else is having here ⁠in Madrid, unfortunately. So I'm just going to try to push through for tomorrow."

Gauff added: "It was a weird feeling today. I don't know how I got through it.

"I'm not someone who likes to pull out so I ​didn't want to pull out again today. I'm glad ​that I was able to get through it."

Gauff will hope to recover in time for her fourth-round clash against 13th seed Linda Noskova.

The Czech benefited from a walkover on Sunday, with 20th seed Liudmila Samsonova apparently another victim of the virus as she was unable to take to the court.

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