Cressy Sinks Norrie To Reach Eastbourne SFs

Maxime Cressy reached his second tour-level semi-final of the season Thursday, upsetting top seed Cameron Norrie 7-5, 7-5 at the Rothesay International in Eastbourne.

The American overcame Reilly Opelka and Daniel Evans in his first two matches and produced another strong display on the grass at the ATP 250 event. The 25-year-old fired 10 aces and won 80 per cent (35/44) of his first-serve points to advance after one hour and 39 minutes in his first ATP Head2Head meeting with Norrie.

“The court conditions were amazing,” Cressy said during his on-court interview. “Thank you to the crowd for making the match so special and bringing an incredible environment. It is a big win for me.”

Cressy, who is making his debut in Eastbourne, will face #NextGenATP Briton Jack Draper or British wild card Ryan Peniston in the last four. Earlier this season, the World No. 60 reached the championship match at the Melbourne Summer Set, losing to Rafael Nadal.

”It has been a tough past three months, but I have stayed resilient and I knew my time would come,” Cressy added. “My confidence is back and I am proud of myself and so happy.”

The 2019 champion Taylor Fritz continued his strong record in Eastbourne with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Alexander Bublik in 67 minutes.

The third-seeded American has now won his past seven matches at the ATP 250 event and will next play Australian Alex de Minaur or countryman Tommy Paul.