“It definitely gives me a lot of confidence that I could play close, but it was a bit frustrating,” Norrie said, per Metro UK. “I mean, there was a lot of, especially in that first set I had a lot of chances, and, yeah, just a couple loose points and a couple of errors and that can cost him, and he didn’t make those and I did.

That was that set. And then again in the second set, as well. “Yeah, a lot of positives to take and a lot of things that I want to get better at and a lot of stuff I want to tidy up in my game. “But, yeah, I think I want more from myself.

Yeah, it was obviously tough to play him, but, yeah, it was a good experience altogether.”

Nadal didn’t take Norrie for granted

After beating Norrie, second-seeded Nadal acknowledged that he didn’t expect to have an easy job against Norrie.

“All the matches are tough and [Norrie] came here [after] winning a couple of very good matches,” said Nadal. “I didn’t convert the opportunities that I had at the beginning of every set, so then the situation became a little more difficult.

I had a lot of chances with a couple of 0/30 [leads] and break points that I didn’t convert. [When] you play against the best players in the world, it is normal that you are going to suffer a little bit”. Nadal, who has only one Australian Open title, plays next against Fabio Fognini.