Norrie Takes Down Draper To Reach Queen's Club SF
Great Britains Cameron Norrie eased past compatriot Jack Draper 6-3, 6-3 to reach his first semi-final at the cinch Championships in London on Friday.
Norrie, who is currently at a career-high No. 41 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, moved to 28-12 on the season as he hit two aces and won 67 per cent (29/43) of points on his first serve to advance in 86 minutes and end the 19-year-old’s run at the Queen’s Club.
”With the conditions, it was very different compared to the last couple of days,” Norrie said. “Jack has been playing some really good tennis, and all credit to him, he was serving big. I think the slower conditions today suited me a little bit more. I managed to play some really good tennis towards the end of the first set and start of the second.
“It was not easy as the court was pretty slippery towards the end, but I am really pleased to be through. I am happy with how I handled everything. It is a lot of fun to have this momentum and keep it rolling, but I think there are a lot of things I can improve on still.”
The Brit, who has reached finals at the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Lyon (l. to Tsitsipas) and the Millennium Estoril Open (l. to Ramos-Vinolas) this year, beat fifth-seeded Russian Aslan Karatsev in the second round.
In their first ATP Head2Head meeting, Norrie broke early to move 2-1 ahead. The 25-year-old continued to dominate from the baseline, breaking again to seal the set in 43 minutes.
[WATCH LIVE 1]Norrie raced to a 3-0 lead at the start of the second, as the British wild card struggled on serve, winning 58 per cent (7/12) of his first-serve points. While Draper stayed in touch, he failed to convert three break point opportunities in the sixth game, and Norrie went on to close out victory on serve.
Draper, who is currently No. 309 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, was contesting just his second ATP Tour event this week after he played at the Miami Open presented by Itau in March. The left hander recorded a maiden ATP Tour victory against #NextGenATP star Jannik Sinner in the first round before beating Alexander Bublik on Wednesday.
Norrie will play either second-seeded Canadian Denis Shapovalov or American Frances Tiafoe in the semi-finals on Saturday. Shapovalov, who reached the Gonet Geneva Open final (l. to Ruud) in May, won the opening set 6-3, hitting four aces, before bad light ended play for the day.