LONDON -- Cameron Norrie eased past Alex Bolt in straight sets on Thursday to reach the third round of the men's singles at Wimbledon and in the process ensured Britain has its largest contingent at that stage of the championship this century.
Norrie's 6-3, 6-1, 6-2 win on Court No. 1 over Australian Bolt followed Dan Evans' straight-sets victory over Dusan Lajovic and Andy Murray's five-set triumph over Oscar Otte on Wednesday.
The trio now equal the feat set in 1999 by Tim Henman, Greg Rusedski and Danny Sapsford in having three Brits in the men's singles third round at the championship.
Norrie, 25, had a tight turnaround heading into his second-round clash with Bolt, having only completed his opening round win over Lucas Pouille on Wednesday due to rain delays from earlier in the week.
Norrie was broken on his first service game by Bolt, but he broke back in the fifth game, and then won the next 10 games to take the first set and leap to a 5-0 lead in the second. Having served out for a 6-1 lead in the second set, Norrie then broke Bolt twice in the third to see that out comfortably 6-2.
The victory means Norrie -- ranked No. 34 in the world -- has surpassed his previous best finish at Wimbledon, a second-round exit in 2019. The win over Bolt was also the first time Norrie had defeated a fellow left-hander at a Grand Slam.
"I'm very happy to be through to the third round and couldn't be more pleased with myself," Norrie said on court afterwards. "It was a tricky start, he came out firing, but I felt this court was easier to move on than on Court No. 2, I was able to trust my feet and was able to move easier out of the corners. There was a lot of improvement from the other day."
Norrie's impressive form at Wimbledon comes off the back of reaching the final at Queen's in June. The British No. 2 will now face the winner of Roger Federer-Richard Gasquet on Saturday.
"It will be special to play Roger or Richard -- both very experienced players, and it's an opportunity to get out on court and enjoy another game at Wimbledon," Norrie added. "If there's a good time to play Roger, I guess it's now, but he's still a decent player!"