Cameron Norrie arrived in his Australian Open third round contest against Casper Ruud with the cards stacked against him. He had won just one set in losing their three previous meetings, clear evidence of an extremely unfavourable match-up. If he did not make significant changes to his game, he would almost certainly lose.

It is to his immense credit that he did not hesitate to adapt his game and in the process he showed a new dimension to his tennis. Instead of grinding from behind the baseline as he has successfully done in his career, Norrie took the initiative at the net, he placed his opponent under constant pressure and he emerged with a stellar 6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-3 win over Ruud to reach the fourth round.

Not only does the victory move Norrie into the fourth round of the Australian Open for the first time in his career, but he has pulled it off with one of the best ever wins. Despite being a top 20 player for the last three years, this is just the second time in 12 attempts that Norrie has defeated a top-20 opponent at a grand slam tournament and No 11 Ruud is his biggest ranking win at this level.

Ten days ago it was hard to imagine such a result. Norrie began the tournament with notable injury concerns after wrist pain forced him to withdraw from Auckland, which was once the 28-year-old’s home tournament. Then he stared down the prospect of defeat in the second round, trailing Giulio Zeppieri, a qualifier, by two sets before turning the match around across five sets.

After overcoming those significant obstacles, Norrie entered the third round match with his confidence reinforced. He burst out the blocks playing inspired, intelligent tennis. He looked to take control of the exchanges, relentlessly attacking Ruud’s backhand, storming the net and forcing the Norwegian to find a passing shot on his weaker wing. He also served well and kept Ruud off-balance and guessing by slipping in drop shots as he broke serve once and rolled through the set.

Still, Ruud maintained his composure. He started the second set dominating his service games and he was clearly in control throughout it. Whenever he trailed, Norrie played bold, attacking tennis without hesitation, landing first serves and flattening out his forehand. After somehow reaching the tiebreak, Norrie held two set points at 6-4. On the second set point, he missed an easy short ball on his trusty backhand and Ruud edged out the set with supreme serving.

The momentum had clearly shifted in Ruud’s favour. After easing through his service games, the Norwegian took a break lead at 3-2 in the third set, seemingly in control. But Norrie instantly responded by returning to the tactics that had served him so well. He smothered Ruud’s backhand side, he volleyed brilliantly and he constantly challenged his opponent to find passing shots with his backhand.

Having retrieved the break and sullied his opponent’s momentum, Norrie rolled through the remainder of the match on his terms. He held his nerve at the end, clinching the final game by closing out each winning point at the net. As John Cain Arena shook, Norrie finished one of the best performances of his life by winning 41 of 56 net points, striking 63 winners and offering a glimpse of new capabilities on the court.