Cameron Norrie wins at Moselle Open but Jacob Fearnley loses in Athens

Cameron Norrie beat Frenchman Valentin Royer to reach the second round of the Moselle Open in Metz – but fellow Briton Jacob Fearnley suffered an early exit in Athens.

Nouri, ranked 27th in the world, overcame the in-form Royer, who dominated the tiebreak in the second set, but the seventh seed came back to win 6-3, 6-7 (2-7), 6-3 in the French championship.

Nouri, ranked second in Britain, who described last week’s victory over Carlos Alcaraz, ranked first in the world at the time, as the greatest of his career, reached the final of the Moselle Open last year.

He will face another local player, Arthur Kazoo, next as he seeks his first ATP Tour title since 2023.

Nouri said: “The whole match was not easy.

“that it [Royer’s] Proper first year on tour and almost made it into the top 50. I had to fight hard.

Earlier, Briton Jan Ciwinski lost to Lorenzo Sonego 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the same tournament.

In the other 250 tournament, which is held in the last week of the regular season, Fernley, the British third seed, lost 6-4, 6-2 to Bosnian player Damir Dzumhur in Greece.