Cameron Norrie dug himself out of trouble to edge a gruelling battle with Tomas Machac at the Madrid Open.
Norrie, seeded 19th, looked to be heading out of the tournament in the second round after missing a match point in the second-set tie-break when Machac served for the victory in the deciding set.
But Norrie broke back and won three straight points to clinch the crucial tie-break, eventually completing a 6-2 6-7 (6) 7-6 (5) victory after two hours and 54 minutes.
“I’ve been feeling the ball really, really well,” said the British number one, who will next face Argentina’s Thiago Agustin Tirante.
“I had the chance in the tie-break, I was a little bit passive on my match point. I was a bit upset with myself, not going after it, not being courageous, but I hung with him in the third set, fought as hard as I could and played some really good stuff in the end, and that’s what mattered.
“Three-setters, it’s classic me. It’s perfect for me, a lot of match court time getting ready for the French Open.”
Norrie narrowly missed a backhand long at 6-5 in the second-set tie-break and grew frustrated as chances came and went early in the third.
When Machac, ranked 41, opened up a 5-3 lead, Norrie was in a real hole but he played a fine game to break back and then shrugged off a contentious moment when his opponent called the trainer only to change his mind when it became clear there would be a lengthy wait.
“I managed to dig really deep and break and then suddenly he called the physio,” said Norrie, who gestured in apparent annoyance.
“He was taking forever to come and then he said, ‘I’m actually OK’. I was fine, it can happen. Maybe he twisted his ankle on the volley, but he seemed OK.”
Having paid the price for passivity in the first tie-break, Norrie made sure he did not make the same mistake in the second, winning a crunch point at 4-5 with a nonchalant drop shot, forcing the error from his rival to set up match point, and taking it with a big serve.
Katie Boulter was unable to join Norrie in the third round, the 29-year-old losing out 6-4 6-4 to fifth seed Jessica Pegula.
Boulter followed fiance Alex De Minaur onto Manolo Santana stadium following his chastening loss to Spanish youngster Rafael Jodar and, although she put up a decent fight, it was double defeat for the couple.
