Cameron Norrie No1 reaches Indian Wells final by beating Grigor Dimitrov

New British No1 Cameron Norrie blasts way into first Masters 1000 final at baking Indian Wells to guarantee £460k

CAMERON NORRIE produced a red-hot display to reach a first Masters final and considerably boost his bank balance.

The new British No1 remains on course to win the biggest title of his career after winning on a scorching California afternoon.

The South African-born star battered Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 6-2 6-4 in an excellent clash at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

This stunning victory over a former world No3 will see his career prize money increase by at least £460,000.

And if he wins Sunday’s final – against Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili – he will be better off by the tune of almost £900,000.

Even with so much on the line, both financially and professionally speaking, Norrie looked calm and assured in his first ever Masters semi-final.

The 26-year-old, with the lungs of an accomplished 10,000m runner, came out quickly and raced into a 4-0 lead thanks to a double break.

In terms of his own strategy, Dimitrov really looked lost and without answers as Norrie aggressively targeted and then exploited his forehand.

Cameron Norrie aiming for ATP Finals after ‘biggest win’ after beating Grigor Dmitrov to make Indian Wells final

Cameron Norrie has tied Novak Djokovic for the most ATP finals this season with six after beating Grigor Dmitrov for a spot in the final at Indian Wells.

And he could yet face the world number one in the ATP Finals event in Turin. Norrie´s remarkable run to the Indian Wells final has put him on the verge of a spot in Turin.

Cameron Norrie has his sights set on the ATP Finals in Turin after securing his ´biggest win´ in a 6-2 6-4 semi-final victory at Indian Wells.
The 26-year-old Brit is now 11th in the ATP race to Turin and could move to within 125 points of Hubert Hurkacz if he beats world number 36 Nikoloz Basilashvili in Sunday´s final.
And when asked whether the finals were on his mind, Norrie said: ¨Yes, that’s on the cards (the ATP World Tour finals) which is really special and it’s just really cool to be in the conversation this late in the year for Turin.

Hopefully I’ll be the same level (on Sunday) and can rest up and enjoy the win.”

Norrie has now tied world number one Novak Djokovic for most ATP Finals reached this year. He finished runner-up at Queen´s Club and runner-up at three ATP 250 events, winning just one (Los Cabos).
But the ATP Masters 1000 final at Indian Wells is by far his biggest to date.

And Norrie made short work of former world number three Dmitrov, winning in straight sets.

“The match against Diego (Schwartzman) gave me a lot of confidence,” said Norrie.

“I felt really good and really comfortable coming out today. I was really physical and got a lot of balls into the court and dictated with my forehand into the backhand side.”

“I was penning him (Dimitrov) there and staying patient to use the forehand up the line. He made it difficult in the second set, slicing a lot and making it tough for me and taking my legs away a bit too, but I managed to serve well in those games and he got frustrated a little bit.

I think I had a really good game-plan today.”

Norrie will replace Dan Evans as British number one once the rankings are refreshed at the end of the week.
And even if he wins at Indian Wells, he will still have work to do to edge into the top ten for the ATP Finals.
But all that stands between Norrie and his biggest title to date is Georgian 29-year-old Nikoloz Basilashvili.
“He´s an incredibly tough players, especially when he´s confident,¨ said Norrie of Basilashvili.
“He hits the ball big off both sides. He moves well. He´s a great athlete. When he´s confident, he can beat anyone. He´s super dangerous.”
But Norrie is full of confidence himself after flying up the rankings this year before reaching Sunday´s final.

Cameron Norrie reaches Indian Wells final by beating Grigor Dimitrov

New British No1 Cameron Norrie reached his first Masters 1,000 final at Indian Wells after beating Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets.

The world No26 won 6-2 6-4 and will face world No36 Nikoloz Basilashvili in the final in California on Sunday.

Norrie’s run at Indian Wells means he will replace Dan Evans as British No1 and the 26-year-old hopes his impressive run to the final of one of the world’s biggest tournaments this week can be the springboard for going deeper into grand slams next year.

“I’ve had some opportunities there to make the second week of a slam, but it’s not gone my way,” said Norrie after beating Dimitrov.

“It’s all been great learning for me. Hopefully with these results I can put myself in a higher seeding there, then maybe have some more chances.

Cameron Norrie

Cameron Norrie is a British professional tennis player.

(/ˈnɒri/; born 23 August 1995)

He reached a career-high ranking in singles of No. 26 on 4 October 2021 and No. 123 in doubles on 23 August 2021. He has one ATP Tour singles and one doubles titles, three Challenger singles titles and three Futures singles titles.