A return to Stadium 1 at Indian Wells for the first time since clinching a first ATP Masters 1000 title at the 2021 BNP Paribas Open could have triggered nerves for Cameron Norrie, but the defending champion had no time for sentimentalities on Wednesday night.
After comfortably moving through his opening rounds with wins on smaller courts over Pedro Martinez and Nikoloz Basilashvili, Norrie produced his best tennis of the tournament on the biggest stage as he downed talented American Jenson Brooksby 6-2, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals in the California desert.
“It was really difficult. I love playing on this court, obviously,” said Norrie after extending his winning record at Indian Wells to 9-2. “Jenson’s so tricky and came out with a gameplan and managed to execute from the beginning and didn’t really miss too much. [I had] one slight lapse in concentration in the second set, but [I am] really enjoying my tennis and happy to sneak through another one.”
A high-quality encounter was defined by Norrie’s ability to cause problems on the Brooksby serve as the Brit broke five times on his way to an 11th victory in 12, a remarkable turnaround after a slow start to the season that saw him lose his opening four matches.
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Brooksby has caused problems for a variety of opponents since bursting into the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings in 2021, and he secured the biggest win of his career on Monday by beating World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the third round. Norrie appeared to have done his homework for his first ATP Head2Head meeting with the 21-year-old, however, surging into a 4-0 lead early as he clubbed the ball with considerable power from the baseline.
After sealing the opening set Norrie’s heavy hitting continued in the second, but Brooksby’s creative game started to register some success as he broke early and established a 3-0 lead. Norrie’s continued aggression made life a struggle for the two-time Tour finalist on serve, however. The Brit took Brooksby’s final three service games of the match to hit back and secure victory in one hour, 38 minutes.
The Infosys ATP Stats for the match reflect how the 2021 champion was a constant thorn in the side of the Brooksby serve. Norrie won 57 per cent (16/28) of points against the American’s second delivery, making the fact Brooksby’s made just 58 per cent of his first serves all the more costly.
“[It was] a little bit of cat and mouse,” said Norrie. “I just backed myself physically, I was trying to make it that the longer the rallies went, I think the better [it was] for me. I just managed to execute and serve a little bit better than him down the stretch and I think that was the difference in that second set.”
Norrie’s title defence continues in the quarter-finals against #NextGenATP prodigy Carlos Alcaraz, who defeated Gael Monfils 7-5, 6-1 earlier on Wednesday. The Brit will try to forget the pair’s sole previous meeting, a straight-sets win for the Spaniard at the 2021 US Open, as he seeks a 14th consecutive win on American soil.
“I’m feeling good physically and I like the conditions here, but I got absolutely whacked by him last time,” said Norrie. “He’s one of the best up-and-coming players, really solid both sides, he won [an ATP 500 event] earlier this year. So he’s confident, and it’s going to be a tough one, but [I am] looking forward to hopefully getting some revenge on him.”
Source Tennis – ATP World Tour
