Cameron Norrie takes down Andrey Rublev but Jacob Fearnley falls to Alexander Zverev in Vienna thriller

Norrie made a strong start to the Erste Bank Open while Fearnley came close to a first top-10 win

Norrie was his opening match in Vienna (APA/AFP via Getty Images)

Cameron Norrie made a strong start to the Erste Bank Open in Vienna with victory over seventh seed Andrey Rublev.

The British number two will be looking for a big finish to what has been an encouraging season and he recovered from a second-set wobble to claim a 6-2 6-7 (5) 6-2 win against the Russian.

Rublev went into the contest on a four-match losing streak and it did not take long for him to show his frustration, the world number 15 repeatedly smashing his racket after dropping a double break behind at 4-1 in the opening set.

Norrie, ranked 35, broke serve again in the opening game of the second set and looked to be coasting to victory but he was unable to serve out the contest at 5-4.

A double fault at 5-5 in the tie-break proved very costly, but Norrie bounced back well in the decider, opening up a 3-0 lead before breaking Rublev's serve for a second time in the set while leading 5-2 to seal victory in just over two hours.

British qualifier Jacob Fearnley went close to securing his first win against a top-10 player before losing out in a deciding set tie-break to Alexander Zverev.

Fearnley, who had not won a set in four previous meetings with the world number three, produced a brilliant second set before going down 6-4 1-6 7-6 (5).

(APA/AFP via Getty Images)

The Scot was broken in the opening game and that was enough for Zverev to clinch the first set, but Fearnley responded with two breaks of his own in the second to lead 4-0 before taking 6-1 in 28 minutes.

Both players comfortably held serve in the decider until Fearnley was forced to save match point at 5-4 down and he went on to force a tie-break.

Zverev secured two mini-breaks to open up a 5-1 lead and held his nerve after Fearnley had pulled one back, sealing victory on his fourth match point overall.

PA