Cameron Norrie criticised his own attitude and performance after his French Open campaign ended with a straight-sets loss to Lorenzo Musetti in the third round.
It is the third year in a row the British number one has fallen in the last 32, and he only managed to mount any real challenge in the third set before going down 6-1 6-2 6-4.
There is certainly no disgrace in losing to 21-year-old Musetti, who is ranked only five places below Norrie and whose best surface is clay, but the 14th seed was hugely disappointed by the manner of what is one of his worst grand slam losses in terms of scoreline.
The result, meanwhile, brings an end to British singles hopes at a tournament where only three players even made the start line.
“I came out very flat and I’m disappointed with the attitude in the first couple of sets,” said a very downbeat Norrie.
“It was very, very slow conditions, very heavy, and I was not prepared for it to be that slow. For me, I can play bad and everything, but I was just very flat and disappointed to have a performance like that.
“The first two sets he didn’t really do too much and he was up two sets to love. For a player like myself, I can’t afford to give that much of an edge.
“There is no excuses to play the level that I did today. I missed so many easy short balls and I lost so many points within a couple of shots where usually I can win a lot of those ones.
“I didn’t come prepared. I was changing rackets throughout the match. It was a bit colder today but I’m good enough to not let that bother me.”
Norrie lost to Musetti in Barcelona recently but spoke positively after his second-round victory over Lucas Pouille about what he had learned from that clash.
He was immediately on the back foot, though, dropping serve in the opening game against the stylish Italian and swiftly losing the opening set.
The second was no better, with Musetti too often finding an answer to everything Norrie could throw at him, and the 17th seed went a break up early in the third as well.
Norrie was staring at his worst slam loss but he at least made a fist of it, breaking Musetti, who had lost from two sets up on both of his previous appearances at Roland Garros, back and creating two chances to break for 5-3.
The Italian held firm, though, and drilled a forehand past Norrie to break again before serving out the victory.
Norrie is known for a relentless work ethic and never-say-die attitude so to hear him talk about a lack of preparation and unwillingness to stay in points is certainly concerning.
The 27-year-old has maintained a relentless schedule to help him get to and then stay at the top of the game so it would be understandable if he felt mentally fatigued, but he dismissed the suggestion.
“I’ve played a lot of matches,” he said. “I think I can use that to my advantage. I’ve played more matches maybe than anyone else on the tour in the last maybe three years. I can say that’s a good thing.
“And then even going into this match today, I was thinking I’ve won more matches than Musetti this year, I’ve won bigger matches than him. I think I’m playing better than him on the clay. I was really confident going into it.”
Norrie will now head back to London and turn his attention to the grass-court swing a year on from his run to the Wimbledon semi-finals.
Next season I’ll be back – Emma Raducanu out for rest of year through injury
Emma Raducanu has revealed she will be sidelined for the remainder of the year.
The 20-year-old Briton was forced to miss the recent US Open, as well as the French Open and Wimbledon earlier this year, after undergoing operations on both wrists and one ankle at the beginning of May.
Raducanu, who fell out of the world’s top 200 this week, had hoped of an autumn comeback after she returned to the practice court last month.
But she told BBC Sport: “Next season I’ll be back. This season all the slams were finished so it was difficult to watch them go by but I was trying to stay in my lane as much as possible and keep focused on my recovery.”
Raducanu has been dogged by injuries since her 2021 US Open victory.
She has played only 10 matches this year and has failed to make it beyond the second round of any grand slam since her superb Flushing Meadows triumph.
Great Britain face Novak Djokovic’s Serbia in Davis Cup quarter-finals
Great Britain have been drawn to play Novak Djokovic’s Serbia in the Davis Cup quarter-finals in Malaga.
Britain secured their place in November’s knockout stage by finishing top of qualifying Group B on Sunday night after their thrilling 2-1 win against France.
Defending champions Canada will face Finland, the Czech Republic play Group B runners-up Australia and the Netherlands take on Italy.
The final eight nations will compete for the 2023 Davis Cup in Malaga from November 21-26.
Britain secured their place in this year’s finals after Dan Evans and Neal Skupski saved four match points in their decisive doubles match against French pair Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin at a sold-out AO Arena in Manchester.
Evans and Skupski clinched a 1-6 7-6 (4) 7-6 (6) win in the deciding rubber after earlier 2-1 wins against both Australia and Switzerland.
Britain captain Leon Smith opted to play his highest-ranked duo Cameron Norrie and Evans in the singles against France.
Andy Murray and Jack Draper had featured against Switzerland and Australia respectively, while world number three in the doubles rankings Skupski completed the five-man line-up.
Smith is confident Britain can mount a serious challenge to repeat their success of 2015 when Murray led them to their last Davis Cup win with victory over Belgium in the final.
Leon Smith believes Great Britain have a chance of Davis Cup glory in Malaga
Great Britain are dreaming of more Davis Cup glory after pulling off a remarkable victory over France to book their spot in the quarter-finals.
Needing victory in their final tie at a sold-out AO Arena in Manchester to reach the knock-out stages, it went all the way to a final-set tie-break in the last rubber, with Dan Evans and Neal Skupski saving four match points against Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin before triumphing 1-6 7-6 (4) 7-6 (6).
When a final French return flew long, Evans and Skupski fell to court before leaping into each others’ arms then celebrating with the rest of the team.
Evans was Britain’s key man across the three ties, winning four rubbers, including two against France having battled from behind to see off teenager Arthur Fils in the opening singles.
“It was nuts,” said the 33-year-old. “The singles is the singles and I feel comfortable on that court but the doubles was chaos. I just kept saying to Neal, ‘We’ve got a chance, we’ve got a chance’. We both kept going. We stuck together.
“It was an amazing day, an amazing feeling. Emotional more than anything. You want to be with these guys in the finals and you know what happens if you lose, it’s not ideal being at home as well. You feel that. It’s an immensely proud moment for me and the team.”
Evans talked after beating Fils about how attending Davis Cup matches as a boy in Birmingham had made him want to play professional tennis and this was his 25th tie across 14 years.
His has been one of the more tumultuous careers in British tennis and last year he annoyed captain Leon Smith and his team-mates by publicly airing his grievances about not being picked in doubles after Britain crashed out in the group stage in Glasgow.
Smith gave the 33-year-old a chance alongside Skupski in February’s play-off in Colombia, where they claimed an important victory, and two wins in decisive rubbers this time have seen him put his money where his mouth is.
Smith remains unhappy with the way Evans made his point, saying: “Am I glad he did it? No I’m not glad he did it and he knows that.
“You can’t get every decision right as captain. What’s important I think is how we came together not just here but when we were in Colombia together.
“I’ve always known Evo and Neal are a good pair. That’s why I think what’s happened this week is really good for us because it was really, really disappointing last year, it hurt a lot.
“Everyone feels it, it comes out in different ways. But for me the most important thing is moving forwards. Me and Evo are great and the team spirit has been brilliant.”
Having a strong doubles team is central to success in the new Davis Cup format, where ties are played over three rubbers rather than five.
Tuesday’s draw will determine who Britain face in the final eight week in Malaga from November 21-26, although they already know it will either be Italy or Novak Djokovic’s Serbia.
Whoever they come up against, Smith will believe that his team, with its improved strength in depth, can have a chance of matching their historic 2015 title run, when Andy and Jamie Murray made it virtually a family affair.
“It’s absolutely brilliant we’re going to Malaga,” said Smith. “We’ve definitely got a chance. We’ve got a really good team.
“We had the benefit at one point of having the best player in the world in our team. Obviously Jamie and Andy doing those things and winning a lot of matches, then the others pitched in and we became really strong.
“We’ve got a chance against anybody. It’s really tight, matches can go either way. Every single tie we’ve had here could have gone either way.”
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The only negative was two defeats for British number one Cameron Norrie, whose Davis Cup record now stands at an underwhelming seven wins and seven losses.
Norrie’s lack of recent wins was evident in Sunday’s loss to Ugo Humbert, where he played well for long periods but made errors at key moments, including double-faulting on match point.
Smith is not concerned, though, saying: “He’s amazing. He works his socks off. Every practice this week – bang on it. Every time you watch him, his intensity, his focus, his discipline.
“Some parts will just go like that. But that’s why he’s got top 10, why he’s top 20, because he goes at it every single day. He’ll be fine. He just needs to keep doing what he’s doing.”
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