Cameron Norrie into Indian Wells final, seals top-20 spot, boosts ATP Finals hopes

ATP 2021 BNP Paribas Open | Draw | Order of Play

The Cameron Norrie machine keeps on rolling. The 26th-ranked Briton clinched a place in his first Masters 1000 final with a brilliant, relentless 6-2, 6-4 win over Grigor Dimitrov on Saturday.

The Briton, who began the year ranked No 71, outplayed Dimitrov in every department of the game, racing to a 4-0 lead in the opening set and then, when Dimitrov tried to fight back in the second, holding on to record a ground-breaking victory.

“I felt really good and really comfortable coming out today,” Norrie said. “I was able to dictate with my forehand. He made it difficult in the second set but I think I had a really good game-plan today.

Norrie will play Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia in Sunday’s final, while his win means he will rise to a projected 17 in the ATP rankings. He’ll also be at least No 11 in the ATP Race, on the cusp of a place in the season-ending ATP Finals. He now has 46 wins in 2021 and he’s into his sixth final of the year, having won his first title in Los Cabos in July.

In his first Masters 1000 semi-final, Norrie picked up where he left off in beating Diego Schwartzman in his previous round, breaking in the first game en route to a 4-0 lead.

Former world No 3 Dimitrov, who beat US Open champion Daniil Medvedev and Hubert Hurkacz on his way to the semi-final, tried everything to get back into the match and after losing the first set, he picked up his game in the second.

But he was always playing catch up after Norrie broke in the opening game of the second set and Norrie dug deep when he needed to, holding a tight service game for 4-2 and again for 5-3, boosting his hopes of appearing in the ATP Finals in Turin.

“It’s really good to be in the conversation at this time of year,” said Norrie, who has now won six semi-finals in a row.

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