Solid Norrie Fends Off Draper Threat

Cameron Norrie used all of his trademark resilience to nullify the powerful game of 20-year-old Jack Draper and triumph in a battle of British lefties at the Miami Open presented by Itau on Friday.

The 10th seed produced a typically consistent performance to secure a 7-6(5), 6-4 second-round victory, continuing the fine form that has turned his 2022 season around after starting the year with four defeats in as many matches.

Norrie took the title in Delray Beach in February and was only prevented from lifting another trophy by Rafael Nadal in Acapulco a week later, but in Miami he came up against an opponent who has also found a winning groove in 2022. Draper has won three titles on the ATP Challenger Tour since January and notched his maiden ATP Masters 1000 win against Gilles Simon in the first round in Miami, but will rue missed chances in Friday’s match against an opponent who is renowned for keeping cool at crucial moments.

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Norrie settled the quicker of the two players and surged to a 5-2 lead early, but Draper kept his focus and took advantage of an uncharacteristic lapse on serve from the 10th seed to level at 5-5. Norrie also made the early running in the tie-break, however, and this time gave nothing away as he converted his third set point to edge ahead.

The second set followed a similar pattern, Draper hitting the ball powerfully throughout to keep Norrie on his toes. The World No. 10 was still able to find a way to navigate his way through the trickier moments, most notably saving two break points to hold in the second game.

A break mid-way through the second set was enough to secure Norrie victory in a tight encounter where his more impressive service numbers were key. The three-time ATP Tour titlist won 76 per cent (31/41) of points behind his first delivery, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

The win extends Norrie’s ATP Head2Head series lead over Draper to 2-0. The pair met at the 2021 Cinch Championships in London, where Norrie claimed victory in straight sets, but despite another defeat the No. 145-ranked Draper will feel his performance in Miami is another boost for his season as he aims to qualify for November’s Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals.

Having reached the quarter-finals defending his title in Indian Wells last week, Norrie will hope his excellent form can now take him to a career-best performance in Miami. He reached the third round for the first time in 2021 before falling to Taylor Fritz in three sets. His opponent at that stage this year will be either Hugo Gaston or 2018 champion John Isner.