\n<\/p>\n
Norrie claimed his biggest career title at the hard-court tournament in 2021 but was beaten this time by home hope Paul, who will play Russian fifth seed Daniil Medvedev next.<\/p>\n
“It was a super weird match, a lot of breaks,” said Paul, the world number 11.<\/p>\n
“I started pretty well and tried to play some aggressive tennis. It was an up-and-down match on both sides.”<\/p>\n
In their first meeting since 2022, both players struggled on serve in the first set.<\/p>\n
Norrie, ranked 77th in the world, was broken three times before handing Paul the opener with a double fault on the second set point.<\/p>\n
In the second set, Norrie again found himself a break down at 4-2 but rallied to level before taking a 0-30 lead on Paul’s serve.<\/p>\n
Paul fought back before taking advantage of Norrie’s error-strewn serving, the Briton conceding the match with his fifth double fault of the set and seventh of the match.<\/p>\n
Draper is left to carry British hopes in the men’s draw, with the 13th seed set to face American Jenson Brooksby<\/a> on Monday.<\/p>\n Medvedev progressed after his unwell opponent, American Alex Michelsen, retired just two games into their match, while Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Matteo Berrettini of Italy 6-3 6-3.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n