October 18, (THEWILL) – Cameron Norrie overcame Nikoloz Basilashvili 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 to become the first British man to win the prestigious Indian Wells title.
By so doing, Norrie, the best men’s tennis player in the United Kingdom, took one final step forward after an imperious breakthrough week at the BNP Paribas Open, in which the increased stakes of each new round brought out a higher level of play from him, as he produced one of the most surprising Masters 1000 triumphs in recent memory.
Norrie began the match as he has done for the past two weeks, making constant returns, lengthening rallies, and targeting Basilashvili’s more prone wing, his forehand. He broke serve quickly and took a 3-1 lead.
Basilashvili, on the other hand, gradually increased his range and began to impose his considerable weapons on Norrie. He came back from a 1-3 deficit to win the set in five games, and he soon led 6-3, 2-1 with a break.
However, as Norrie continued to draw Basilashvili into long cross-court rallies, particularly from the deuce court between Norrie’s backhand and Basilashvili’s forehand, the Georgian began to make more unforced errors. In the second set, Norrie came back to take a 3-2 lead, his confidence growing in his own service games.
On Basilashvili’s serve, two inspired points to Norrie at 5-4 decided the second set. He moved inside the baseline, hit a drop shot, and then finished the long point with a composed volley winner, before drilling a spectacular down-the-line backhand passing shot winner. Norrie broke to love after two more Basilashvili gaffes.
Norrie made just one unforced error in the first three games of the set after re-establishing the lengthy, attritional cross-court rallies while drawing plenty of errors from an impatient Basilashvili.
The Brit even recovered from triple break point at 2-0 en route to a 3-0 lead. Norrie refused to relinquish control once he had established his lead, breaking yet again before serving out the match with ease.
“It means so much to me, my biggest title,” Norrie confessed in post-match remarks. “I’m so happy, I can’t even describe it right now. It was a strange match today but absolutely massive for me and my team and I can’t really believe it. If you would’ve told me I would have won the tournament before the tournament started, I wouldn’t believe you. So, it’s amazing.
“I’ve been really enjoying my tennis and really been enjoying being out on court and competing in the big moments. I’m just really pleased with how I handled the occasion and I think I’m doing that a lot this year. I know I lost in a lot of finals so it’s nice to get the big one today.
“I still don’t really know what I’m experiencing,” he said. “It was an amazing couple weeks and I’m so happy with how I treated all the occasions, all the big moments, all the matches. I’m so happy, so pleased to win my biggest title.”
Norrie’s journey to the top of the sport has been unique, from his early decision to take the longer road to professional status by first attending university to the steady rise in his ranking since his debut. For much of his career, he may not have gotten much praise from his peers, but now he is demanding it based on his achievements.
Norrie leaves Indian Wells with a new career high ranking of 16 and has dragged himself firmly into contention for the ATP Finals in Turin, currently ranked 10th in the ATP race. Norrie is only one spot and 110 points out of the top eight since Rafael Nadal went down with an injury.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
