Norrie saves match point to stun De Minaur in Montreal marathon

Cameron Norrie saved a match point and overturned a set and double-break deficit to eliminate Alex de Minaur 1-6, 7-6, 6-1 in a gruelling three-hour contest at the Montreal Masters. The British number one, a former Indian Wells champion, will now face French rising star Arthur Fils in the fourth round.

The Australian third seed had dominated the opening set and moved within a point of a straight-sets victory at 5-3 in the second, only for Norrie to force a tiebreak and then run away with the decider. De Minaur, runner-up in Toronto three years ago, admitted he simply stopped playing his best tennis at the crucial moment.

Norrie finds his rhythm after slow start

De Minaur raced to a 4-1 lead and pocketed the first set in 36 minutes, winning six of seven games. Norrie acknowledged the quality of his opponent's start. "The level was so high in the first set. He came out firing and I had to match it," the Briton said. "Alex stayed tough and stole the first set but took his foot off the gas just slightly in the second."

I just battled point for point and managed to come out 6-1 in the third set. I was fortunate and I'll take the win.

The turning point arrived in the eighth game of the second set. De Minaur held a match point on Norrie's serve but could not convert. The British player levelled the match in the tiebreak and then produced a near-flawless final set, wrapping up victory 62 minutes after that missed opportunity.

Fils continues comeback with clinical win

Norrie's next opponent, Arthur Fils, advanced with a 6-3, 6-2 dismissal of Argentine Mariano Navone. The 24th-ranked Frenchman, returning from a lengthy injury layoff that stretched into February, overcame 30 unforced errors with a serving display that yielded four aces and four breaks of serve.

"I couldn't put in a serve during warm-up," Fils said. "But I found my rhythm during the match and hit some good spots. It has been a tough time for me, I was injured a lot. But I enjoy being back on the big stage, it means a lot."

Teenager Jodar announces himself

Spanish teenager Rafael Jodar, runner-up in Washington last week, continued his breakthrough run by toppling 13th seed Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 6-3. The 18-year-old will face eighth seed Jiri Lehecka, who saw off Belgian qualifier Alexander Blockx 6-3, 6-4.

"I did a great job on returns and generally played very solid," Jodar said. "I'm super happy with the performance." With the top half of the draw decimated, the path to a first Masters 1000 title has opened dramatically for the survivors.