'You have some nerves' - Cameron Norrie overcomes wobble to beat Sebastian Baez in Lyon ahead of French Open

Published 19/05/2022 at 21:12 GMT

Cameron Norrie has fond memories of Lyon, having made it to the final 12 months ago. His win over Sebastian Baez booked him a third semi-final appearance in Lyon. Things were not easy for the Brit as he was pushed extremely hard and triumphed in three tough sets. He will face Holger Rune in the last-four.

Highlights: Top seed Norrie passes Baez test to reach Lyon Open semi-finals

Cameron Norrie has admitted he had to battle a bout of nerves in overcoming Sebastian Baez to advance to the semi-finals of the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Lyon.

The Brit, who learned on Thursday he will face Manuel Guinard in the first round of the French Open, had to dig extremely deep to beat Baez 6-4 4-6 7-5.

Norrie has enjoyed his visits to Lyon, as he made it to the final 12 months ago, and his win over Baez secured his place in the semi-finals of the event for the third time.

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The Brit, who will be seeded 10 at Roland-Garros, squandered three match points before eventually getting over the line in two hours and 40 minutes.

“It is one of those matches where you have some nerves, so to get over the line you take a lot of confidence from that and I showed my emotion at the end,” Norrie said. “It means a lot to get through a match like that. I really enjoyed the battle.”

Norrie was full of praise for Baez, as he said: “All credit to Sebi, he played a really good match. The rallies were so tough and it was really tough to finish it off at the end but I managed to do it.”

Holger Rune stands between the British No. 1 and a return to the final in Lyon. Rune got the better of a tough tussle with Norrie's French Open opponent Guinard, winning 3-6 6-3 6-4.

Alex de Minaur and Alex Molcan will contest the second semi-final.