Norrie Downs Paul, Seals Delray Final Spot

  • Posted: Feb 19, 2022

Norrie Downs Paul, Seals Delray Final Spot

Feb192022

Opelka outlasts Millman to reach second straight final

Cameron Norrie’s 2022 season is bubbling up nicely.

The top seed gave nothing away in a solid 6-3, 6-3 victory over American wild card Tommy Paul at the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com on Saturday.

After starting 2022 with four straight defeats, Norrie sparked his season to life with a quarter-final run in Rotterdam last week and will now play for a third ATP Tour title in Sunday’s championship match in Florida.

It marks an improvement on Norrie’s 2021 run at the ATP 250 event, when he was defeated by Sebastian Korda at the semi-final stage.

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The World No. 13 got off to a fast start by breaking Paul in the second game of the match. Norrie then resisted the American’s attempts to get back in the set by recovering from 15/40 to hold for 5-2, the Brit converting his first set point two games later.

A tight second set was also decided by a lone break, Paul sending a forehand long at 30/40 on his own serve to hand Norrie a 3-2 lead.

Paul went for his shots throughout as he tried to find a way past Norrie’s defences. The fourth-seeded American hit 24 winners to Norrie’s 13, but also made 20 unforced errors compared to his opponent’s nine. Norrie’s consistency was a constant thorn in the American’s side as the Brit deflated some vocal home support to seal victory in 76 minutes.

The win gives Norrie a 2-1 ATP Head2Head series lead over Paul and takes him to his eighth tour-level final. He’ll face Dallas Open champion and Delray Beach second seed Reilly Opelka in the final. The pair split their only two tour-level meetings, with Norrie taking the most recent matchup at the Rolex Paris Masters in November.

Opelka won his third straight three-setter in the Saturday nightcap, outlasting Aussie John Millman, 7-6(8), 6-7(3), 7-6(4) after three hours. The American had the better of the match throughout, winning 82 per cent of his first-serve deliveries and creating 10 break points to just two against.

The World No. 20 nearly got it done in straight sets, but Millman saved three match points at 4-5, 0/40 in the second to stay alive. After holding in a three-deuce 12th game of the set, the Aussie forced a fifth set with a steady performance in the tie-break.

“It would have been nice to have been out of there in two. I would have been home, probably in bed by now,” Opelka said after the match. “He hit one unbelievable forehand on one of those match points, so not much I can do. There’s one backhand that I’m kicking myself over that I missed in the net, that I kind of had the whole court. It’s unfortunate that that happened, but I was able to get a win.”

Full of confidence following his Dallas title, Opelka brushed off the missed opportunity to create an early break chance in the third. Again, Millman stood strong to hold, and both men protected their serves well as the match eased into another tie-break.

One mini-break was all that was required for Opelka, who earned it by getting the better of an 18-ball rally. The self-proclaimed “serve-bot” excelled in lengthy rallies throughout the night as he showcased his patience, movement and fitness. 

Looking ahead to the final against Norrie, Opelka previewed: “He’s the one seed for a reason. He won a lot of matches last year. He’s definitely fresher than I am, I had a long week last week and a long night tonight. It’s the last one, I’ll leave it all on the line.

“I’ve got a quick turnaround, 6 a.m. flight on Monday. My consolation is I get to play Rafa in Acapulco.”

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