British number two Cameron Norrie ended a six-match losing streak with a 6-4-6-1 win over Aleksandar Kovacevic in the first round of the Mifel Open in Mexico.
Norrie had not won since the Madrid Open in April, a run which included a first-round exit to qualifier Michael Zheng at Wimbledon.
Playing at the tournament in Los Cabos where he won his first ATP title in 2021, Norrie recovered from having his serve broken twice in the first set, including in the opening game.
The fifth seed dropped only five points on serve in the second set and broke American Kovacevic twice to set up a meeting with Australian James Duckworth or American Aidan Mayo in the last 16.
“I’m so happy,” said Norrie, who retired from his French Open first-round match in May because of a rib injury.
“I hadn’t had a win in a while. I’ve been battling some injuries and a bit of confidence, so I was a bit nervous.
“But I played well in the big moments and managed to stay calm.”
British number two Katie Boulter was knocked out of the Citi Open in the first round, extending her losing run to four matches.
American Ashlyn Krueger triumphed 3-6 6-2 6-2 in Washington DC as Boulter won only four points from 2-0 up in the deciding set.
