Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie will play Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili for a spot in the Indian Wells final.
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It’s been a stellar season for Norrie, as his 6-2, 6-4 quarter-final win over Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov was his 46th of the season – two more match wins than world No 1 Novak Djokovic.
Irrespective of what transpires in the Californian desert, the 26-year-old Norrie will also replace Dan Evans as the new British No 1 on Monday and is set to crack the top 20 in the ATP Tour rankings.
Norrie’s long-time coach, Argentine Facundo Lugones, has shed ore light on what makes his player such a tough opponent.
“They know if they’re playing him they’re in for a long day,” said Lugones, as quoted by the Daily Mail.
“When you’re against a guy who shows up every single day, a lot of players are not ready for that. They know they have to dig deep to beat him,” Lugones, who has coached Norrie since 2017, added.
“He has the ability to play every single point and not take one point off. That takes people to a place mentally and physically where it is uncomfortable and not easy to perform, and then they start playing worse.”
Basilashvili, meanwhile, upset American Taylor Fritz 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 in their semi-final.
Picture: Cameron Norrie – BNP Paribas Open/Twitter