Cameron Norrie suffered a shock defeat to Spanish teenager Rafael Jodar, losing 6-3 6-2 in his opening match at Abierto Mexicant Telcel.
The first set was tight and stayed on serve before Jodar broke Norrie in the eighth game – on his second attempt – and continued to serve the entire set.
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An out-of-form Norrie then struggled to respond in the second set and was blown away by the 19-year-old’s powerful blitz which won five games in a row in which he lost just two points.
The result was a straight sets victory for the impressive teenager and world number 1. 114, and the greatest triumph of his career to date. Jodar will now face Grigor Dimitrov or Terence Atmane in the second round.
The victory was also Jodar’s first victory in the ATP 500 and came after he earned a wildcard spot in the main draw of the Mexican Open.
Jodar, from Leganes, was entered in the qualifying stage of the tournament, but organizers placed him in the main draw due to his previous results on tour. He reached the Challenger 125 final in Canberra as well as the second round of the Australian Open after advancing through qualifying to enter the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time ever.
Rafael Jodar beats Cam Norrie in straight sets at the Mexican Open (REUTERS)
The teenager had also impressed in two previous ATP tour events, reaching the last 16 of the Delray Beach Open before being defeated by Taylor Fritz and successfully reaching the main draw of the Dallas Open after straight-set victories over Murphy Cassone and Mitchell Krueger in qualifying.
Beating Norrie, in a match that lasted just 56 minutes, meant a boost to Jodar’s rankings as the teenager is now on the verge of entering the top 100 for the first time.
