(Tennis news) It was the biggest win in Cameron Norrie’s career as the 27 year old defeated 22 time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal 3-6 6-3 6-4 in the United Cup in the Ken Rosewell Arena. Despite being a set down, Norrie made a fantastic comeback to secure a win which was his first in the last four years. Norrie defeated Alex de Minaur in his opening match as Great Britain defeated Australia 3-2.

It was Nadal’s first match since the ATP Finals in November and despite being 36 years old, he showed great athleticism in the first set to go toe-to-toe with Norrie, who is almost 10 years younger. However, his age showed as the match went by and the Spaniard’s intensity dropped while Norrie upped his performance. The 27 year old broke Nadal in the sixth game of the second set and then dominated the decider, saving two break points and showing great nerves to get a memorable win.

“It was pretty crazy. I was thinking I’d never won a set before (against Nadal) and I came out firstly wanting to do that. I had to stay super-patient. It was a super-physical match and I enjoyed it. It was huge to get through that one and finally beat him. He beat me easily the last few times, so it’s a great way to end the year for me. It was a crazy atmosphere, thank you guys. It was a crazy match.”

Cameron Norrie

In other results, Katie Swan beat Nuria Parrizas Diaz 3-6 6-1 6-2 to secure her first win in the United Cup as Great Britain made it 2-0 against Spain. The 23 year old made a fantastic turnaround in the second set with only four unforced errors after Diaz hit 10 forehand winners in the first. Swan kept her momentum in the third set while her Spanish opponent struggled to assert herself. The result means that Spain’s Paula Badosa and Pablo Carreno Busta will need to secure wins in order to level the scoring.

Meanwhile, Iga Swiatek overcame Yulia Putintseva 6-1 6-3 to give Poland a 2-1 lead while Belgium and Bulgaria are level at 1-1 after Grigor Dimitrov beat David Goffin 6-4, 7-5, cancelling out Alison Van Uytvanck’s 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 win over Isabella Shinikova. The Czech Republic secured a 2-0 lead over Brazil with Jiri Lehecka defeating Alexander Zverev 6-4 6-2 and could win the tie if Petra Kvitova defeats Laura Siegemund on Sunday. The inaugural United Cup features 18 countries competing in Brisbane, Perth and Sydney until January 4th with the winners facing off at the Ken Rosewall Arena between January 6 and January 8.

Also read: Top-seeded Cilic gets 1st round bye, 15-year-old Manas gets wildcard