Norrie emerged victorious over the Russian on Tuesday thanks to a dominant performance which saw him advance to the last eight.
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If it’s the Indian Wells we’re talking about, we simply cannot keep Cameron Norrie out of the conversation. The tenth seed was up against a stern test against Andrey Rublev but made it look pretty simple. Norrie emerged victorious over the Russian on Tuesday thanks to a dominant performance which saw him advance to the last eight. The score at the end of the tie was 6-2, 6-4. For a total of 75 minutes, Norrie found a way to deal with Rublev’s power game, soaking up the pressure and returning the ball at the tightest of angles, making it extremely difficult for the Russian to get a clean connection with the ball.
The Brit returned five out of five break points to win his eighth consecutive match, and tie his head to head record with Rublev to 2-2. The 27-year-old lefty has now amassed 21 victories in 2023, including four Top 10 triumphs, after defeating World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz to win the trophy in Rio de Janeiro last month. In the last eight, Norrie will play either American Frances Tiafoe or Chilean qualifier Alejandro Tabilo in an effort to win his sixth tour-level championship.
Norrie had won the Indian Wells Masters in 2021, and it remains his biggest career triumph so far. He is currently in a fine run of form, holding an outstanding 21-3 record so far this season. The Brit had won the Rio Open earlier, defeating one of the best players in the world, Carlos Alcaraz, in the final. He is now undefeated in eight and only three more will make him a two-time Indian Wells champion.
Fifth seed Daniil Medvedev advanced to the last eight of the 2023 Indian Wells Masters on Tuesday after a hard-fought win over 12th seed Alexander Zverev. Medvedev beat his opponent 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-5), 7-5 in what was an absolute classic match between two of the best players in world tennis today. The world no. 6 hit 12 aces and committed only five double faults in the tie. His win percentage on the first and second serves were 74% and 62% respectively. He also returned three out of eight available break points.
Zverev, on the other hand, recorded seven aces and committed fewer double faults with three. His win percentage on the first and second serves were 71% and 61% respectively, and he only returned two out of 17 break points, which ultimately proved to be crucial.
Medvedev has been on a tear ever since the conclusion of the Australian Open in January. He has won three tournaments in a row, Rotterdam Open, Qatar Open and Dubai Tennis Championships. The Russian will be hopeful of winning the sunshine double (Indian Wells and Miami Open) during his time in the US this month and with Novak Djokovic presumably out of the picture, it could very well happen.
