By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, October 14, 2021
Cameron Norrie dismissed Diego Schwartzman 6-0, 6-2 to reach his first Masters Series semifinal, crack the Top 20 for the first time and rise to British No. 1.
Photo credit: Getty
Cameron Norrie scaled a mountain range of major achievement in 73-minute desert surge.
A near-flawless Norrie dismissed Diego Schwarzman 6-0, 6-2 soaring into his first Masters 1000 at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
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It's a monumental moment for the 26th-ranked Norrie, who will surpass Dan Evans and rise to British No. 1 for the first time and cracks the Top 20 for the first time in his career in the live rankings.
The British left-hander was Mr. Clean committing just 10 unforced errors today—20 fewer than an erratic Schwartzman, who sprayed an uncharacteristic 30 unforced errors and struggled to find his first serve.
Norrie dismantled the Schwartzman serve converting six of nine break points, winning 16 of 19 points played on the Argentinean's second serve and nearly doubling in total points won (58 to 30).
In a brilliant performance, Norrie improved to 45-20 on the season, including an impressive 7-3 mark in quarterfinals.
Next up for Norrie is a semifinal showdown vs. either Miami Open champion Hubert Hurkacz or 23rd-seeded Grigor Dimitrov, who knocked off top-seeded Daniil Medvedev yesterday.
A sharp Norrie carved Schwartzman to shreds at the start razing through 15 of the first 17 points in seizing a 4-0 lead.
The 2020 Roland Garros semifinalist landed just two of his first nine first serves and struggled to make any impression on Norrie’s serve.
Cutting off angles effectively and changing direction shrewdly, Norrie beat Schwartzman to the ball in running rallies. When Schwartzman netted a return, Norrie dispensed the bagel in 31-minutes winning eight of nine first-serve points.
A sloppy Schwartzman committed 11 unforced errors—more than tripling Norrie’s three in the opening set.
Thirty-nine minutes into the match, Schwartzman finally snapped the shutout coaxing Norrie into dragging a forehand wide to hold.
The 11th-seeded Argentinean was barking at himself after some misses, slapped a ball against the back wall in disgust at one point, but still struggled to shed his malaise. Schwartzman missed a mid-court forehand handing the Briton his fourth break and a 2-1 second-set lead.
Despite the thrashing, Schwartzman showed stubborn resolve earning triple break point in the fourth game. Schwartzman put a twisting return right at Norrie’s feet earning his first break to level after four games.
Schwartzman’s inability to consistently land his first serve and Norrie’s acute-angled returns posed problems the Argentinean couldn’t solve. A serve-and-volley bid did not go well as Norrie knifed a backhand return breaking for 3-2.
The man who has played ATP finals on every surface this season rolled through the final four games serving out a superb win at love.