Cameron Norrie, the last British singles player standing at the Australian Open this year, was unable to pull off the improbable achievement of beating Rafael Nadal across the best of five sets in his first ever official meeting with a member of the ‘big three’. In a scrappy match played out in the renewed silence of crowdless tennis, Norrie offered ample resistance in their two hours 14 minutes on Rod Laver Arena but Nadal was able to survive in straight sets 7-5, 6-2, 7-5. The first week of Nadal competing in Melbourne has been a peculiar affair. His transparency while discussing the nature of the back injury that forced him to withdraw from the ATP Cup means that each match has been an opportunity to examine which aspects of his game are affected by it. When he opened against Norrie with a series of uncharacteristic backhand errors, eventually falling down an early break, it was easy for many to assume that his physical ailment was to blame. Nadal instead said that this marked the first day of his back’s condition improving. Any rustiness was a logical reflection of not practicing on Friday as he sought further treatment. Above all, Nadal said he was made uncomfortable by the quality across the net from Norrie, who gave a solid account of his game and underlined why he has been able to remain in the top 100 for two years. Norrie is an interesting player with a unique, asymmetrical game. His forehand loads up with a heavy topspin, generated with an elaborate swing, but it is counterbalanced by an extremely flat, compact backhand that Nadal struggled with throughout. Along with his movement and stamina, the deep contrast between his two different strokes can be a menace for many players around him in the rankings. Throughout the match, Norrie demonstrated his ability to lengthen rallies and to make Nadal uncomfortable in the tight opening set, while his lack of weaponry was on show as Nadal took hold of the match and quickly established a two-set lead. In the final set, he showed the direction his game will have to move in should he wish to ascend beyond his current career-high ranking of 41 as he effectively stepped into the court and dictated in his service games. “It was just a couple of loose points, a couple of errors and they can cost,” said Norrie. “A lot of positives to take and a lot of things that I want to get better at. I’ve got a lot of stuff that I want to tidy up in my game. I think I want more from myself. It was obviously tough to play him but it was a good experience.” While this week marks the eighth grand slam tournament in the past 11 that has seen no British player reach the round of 16, Norrie has been one of the few bright lights at the top level of British tennis since the tour returned in August. He is clearly improving, achieving his first two grand slam third round results in Melbourne and at the US Open last summer. The 25-year-old is also finally stringing together enough wins to test himself against the best players in the world. His game has a clear ceiling but, if he can maintain his level over the season, his ranking will rise and he will face better opponents and offer himself a chance to improve. When asked about whether he believes Norrie, who is currently ranked 69th in the world, can take the next step and establish himself inside the top 40 and beyond, Nadal responded positively. “There are a couple key matches per year that creates a big difference on the year-end ranking,” said Nadal. “So these kinds of matches can decide if you’re gonna be 30 or you’re gonna be 55, for example. Because there is a big gap of points in some key matches. “His level is good. He has a lot of positive things. If he’s able to keep improving, why not? I don’t see why he can’t reach that level.” In the women’s draw, sixth seed Karolina Pliskova was upset 7-5, 7-5 by 25th seed Karolina Muchova, her fellow Czech who Pliskova practiced with during the quarantine period. Ashleigh Barty, the world No 1, reached the fourth round with a 6-2 6-4 win over Russian 29th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.