Medvedev will say at almost every available opportunity that clay is not his favourite surface – but that takes nothing away from Norrie, who was outstanding.

Hitting with depth and pummelling his forehand in particular, he stuck in the rallies with the defensive Medvedev and returned serve well.

He went a break down in the first set but capitalised as Medvedev tightened up when serving for it – as the Russian would do again at the end of the match.

After taking the opener, Norrie marched out to a 4-0 lead in the second, with Medvedev yelling at himself and his coach in French and frequently gesticulating to his box.

Brave hitting gave Norrie a two-set lead before Medvedev found his focus, cutting out the theatrics and racing through two sets to force a decider.

Having broken Norrie in the third game, all the energy was with Medvedev – but an error-strewn service game as he tried to secure victory gave the initiative back to Norrie.

Norrie then held serve confidently and, stepping in to the court to put pressure on Medvedev, managed to avoid a match tie-break.