Cameron Norrie and Dan Evans make serene progress into second round

It took just a few fleeting points of the first-round match between Cameron Norrie and Benoît Paire for it to become clear that the French player was in one of his moods. He shanked forehands into the back fence, then he dumped backhands into the bottom of the net. He had only just arrived, yet he looked determined to get off the court as quickly as possible.

There were other times, though, when Paire played fairly well. In the midst of the chaos on the other side of the net, Norrie handled himself as he always does. Remaining steady, solid and composed, he moved on to the second round with a good first performance, defeating Paire 6-0, 7-6 (1), 6-0.

Dan Evans also reached the second round with a comfortable straight-sets win, defeating Jiri Vesely 6-4, 6-1, 6-1. Five British players have now reached the second round in New York, the joint highest number since 1981.

By the end of a pitiful 18-minute first set Paire had hit one winner, 16 unforced errors and not managed to win a single return point. But slowly he began to get into the match. His serving improved, allowing him to pull together a number of holds and he served for the second set at 5-3. As Paire froze, losing his serve then hitting three double faults in a row to end the tie-break, Norrie remained consistent and focused, prolonging the exchanges and giving away nothing in the heat.

And that was all. As he stared down a two-set deficit, Paire’s effort returned to the dire level of the opening set. He spent the changeover at 5-0 packing his bags. After giving minimal effort in the final game, including a failed underarm serve, Paire pulled Norrie in for a warm hug, then picked up his packed bag and walked off court.

Norrie said: “I was trying to play and