Round of 128 action at Foro Italico!
British southpaw Cameron Norrie returns for more clay court momentum at the 2025 Italian Open in Rome. Norrie managed to reach the Round of 32 at the Madrid Masters last week – earning two gritty comeback victories along the way. Leading Great Britain’s ATP charge once upon a time, the 29-year-old now has an uphill task of matching Jack Draper to double the nation’s trophy hopes.
Cameron Norrie is a former Top-10 player; he currently stands at No. 91 in the ATP Rankings. A combination of injuries and inconsistencies have meant that Norrie is searching for form in Rome. The 2022 Wimbledon semifinalist is often seen in qualifying tournaments as well as ATP Challengers in order to better his ranking. His season-best performance has been a quarterfinal finish in two events – Hong Kong and Delray Beach.
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Ranked slightly higher than his opponent at the moment, World No. 81 Christopher O’Connell was thrashed by Taylor Fritz in Madrid. The Australian was on the verge of breaking into the Top-50 at the end of 2023. This year, he is yet to reach a tour-level semifinal thus far. Yet, O’Connell has some commendable successes over the likes of Grigor Dimitrov and Nicolas Jarry across different events this year. He also stretched Tommy Paul to five thrilling sets at the 2025 Australian Open.
The head to head record between Cameron Norrie and Christopher O’Connell is currently 0-0. The Italian Open Round-1 encounter will be their first meeting.
At last week’s Mutua Madrid Masters-1000 competition, Cameron Norrie defeated Martin Landaluce 6-7(4) 7-5 6-4 and 26th seed Jiri Lehecka 2-6 6-4 6-0. He was knocked out by Gabriel Diallo. On the other hand, O’Connell overcame the Camilo Ugo challenge 6-3 6-4 at the Spanish capital before receiving a straight sets humbling vs World No. 4 Fritz.
| Cameron Norrie | Titles | Christopher O’Connell |
| 0 | Grand Slams | 0 |
| 5 | ATP Singles Titles | 0 |
| 1 | ATP Doubles Titles | 0 |
| 1 | Masters-1000 Titles | 0 |
| 1 | ATP-500 Titles | 0 |
| – | Olympics Best Performance | – |
| No. 91 | Current World Ranking | No. 81 |
While O’Connell has previously told the ATP Tour that his favourite surface is clay, the 30-year-old might find it tricky to counter the left-handed serve and forehand of Norrie. The Brit also has a lethal push backhand, which can be deceptively skiddy and fast when he finds his range. It should ideally be a match of fine margins that is determined by who manages to land a higher percentage of first serves.
Prediction: Cameron Norrie in three sets.
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Cameron Norrie Win: 1.53
Christopher O’Connell Win: 2.50
