Andy Murray vs Cameron Norrie LIVE: Western & Southern Open result as Norrie wins deciding set

Norrie wins the opening point with a shanked forehand lob that somehow drifts into court. Norrie holds up his racket as an apology but gets to 15-30 after a Murray double fault.

A further slice of luck from Norrie, this time clipping the net cord, helps to bring up break point and it swiftly taken as Murray leaves a forehand in the net.

*denotes next server

Norrie won the toss and elected to receive. Both players just completing their warm-ups in what are favourable conditions in Cincinnati.

And we’re underway!

Murray has a record of 8-2 against British players and has only ever been beaten by Tim Henman (2006) and Kyle Edmund (2018).

“Andy is a big inspiration for me but I’m going to put that to one side,” Norrie says, as the 26-year-old is shown stretching in the tunnel ahead of this afternoon’s match.

“Playing against Cam is not an easy match but if I play well and serve well I can win,” Murray adds. “These are the matches I want to be playing and these are the matches I want before New York.”

Murray shuts down the hype of an all-British clash but adds: “It makes it interesting, but for me Cam’s one of the best players in the world and I want to beat him because of that.”

Both are now out on court in Cincinnati.

Emma Raducanu will be on Centre Court following the conclusion of Murray and Norrie’s match as the 19-year-old takes on Victoria Azarenka. It comes less than 24 hours after her last match, which was a 6-4 6-0 win against Serena Williams.

Raducanu had spoken before the match of how getting the chance to play Serena before she retires at the US Open was a “gift” and she said afterwards she had been grateful for the opportunity.

“I think we all need to just honour Serena and her amazing career,” she said. “I’m so grateful for the experience of being able to play her and for our careers to cross over. Everything that she’s achieved is so inspirational and it was a true honour to share the court with her.”

Norrie was quick to praise the impact Murray has had on his career ahead of the pair’s second career meeting, with the 26-year-old revealing the help and advice the former world No 1 has offered to him throughout his journey to the top 20. Norrie started playing with Murray when he was close to the peak of his powers but enters today’s match as the favourite.

“It definitely took me a couple of years to catch up with my level,” Norrie told The Guardian. “For the most part, I was having to play at my best in practice to keep up with him. I think, probably nowadays it’s pretty even between us. We always have good practices.

“I’m always picking his brains on certain situations, what he thinks about certain players, how they play and tactics. Everything, really. He’s gone through a lot in the sport and he’s achieved almost everything so definitely a guy we’re lucky enough [to have] as a British player. To be practising with him a lot, to be spending time with him quite a lot, it’s pretty cool to pick his brain on a few things.”

There was quite a remarkable stat put to Murray following his win over Wawrinka that underlines how important a victory against Norrie would be this afternoon. Murray has a 13-3 record in first-round matches this season, but that record drops to 5-7 when he plays his second match of the event.

Murray replied: “Well, in some of the instances I’m playing against better players. I mean, that obviously is going to contribute to it a little bit. Again, that’s if you’re seeded in events or ranked higher, you potentially avoid playing better players earlier in tournaments. That’s an advantage.

“But, yeah, I mean, the reason I felt like I haven’t won as many of those matches as I would have liked this year is because I haven’t been playing well enough. Even in some of the first-round matches that I have got through, I haven’t necessarily played amazing tennis and then haven’t stepped it up the next match or, you know, when I have been playing against better opposition. Yeah, that’s what needs to change.

“There is evidence in there from -- I have talked about it a lot from the last 18 months and the players I have won against and had success against, that it is in there, but the consistency hasn’t been. Until that changes, yeah, it’s going to be difficult to have deep runs.”

There was some classic Murray action in his opening win over old rival Stan Wawrinka, with the 35-year-old battling through muscle cramps to win in three sets in Cincinnati.

“The court is pretty lively when the weather is like this. Physically I feel tired,” Murray explained. “I had some issues with cramp during the match, the same as Washington, so that is something I need to get on top of.

“I tried to take the ball on a little more and finish points at the net. I wasn’t that successful when I came up, but the intention was there. I was a little more offensive on the second-serve return. Last game I was just fighting, trying to find a way through.”

Murray, though, has the chance to build up to the US Open with a victory over the World No 11. Murray headed over to the US after Wimbledon with the goal of being amongst the seeded players for the final grand slam of the year, but it hasn’t quite worked out that way so far. Despite a good win over Stan Wawrinka in the opening round here, he was beaten in his first matches in Montreal and Washington - to Taylor Fritz and Mikael Ymer respectively. Murray, 47th in the world, needs a run here at the 1000 Series event to help his chances.

We’ve got a great match-up first on today in Cincinnati, and of two players at very different points in their careers. Norrie will face Murray for the first time since 2019 and cracking into the top 20. The 26-year-old’s journey to the Wimbledon semi-finals has been one of gradual improvement and a work ethic than undoubtedly would have been inspired by Murray’s own tireless graft. With the three-time grand slam champion winning their previous meeting in Beijing, a win for Norrie over his playing partner would also signify a signifcant step - even if rankings and form suggest it should not be much of a contest.