Cam Norrie Wins Indian Wells
Cam Norrie has picked up one of the most prestigious titles in tennis by winning the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. This victory comes just one month after Emma Raducanu shocked the tennis world by winning the US Open in New York. British tennis has taken centre stage during the 2021 American hardcourt swing with these two fairy-tale runs as well as the return of Andy Murray to the ATP Tour.
Very few would have picked Cam Norrie to win the Indian Wells Masters 1000, the hordes of British journalists sent to California to cover Emma Raducanu certainly didn’t expect to be writing about another Brit winning the title. Cam Norrie isn’t even a name that most UK residents would have known this time last week. Norrie has, however, been rising steadily up the rankings over the past 12 months. He started 2021 ranked 74 in the world and Cam will now enter the world’s top 20 and have a chance to qualify for the ATP Finals in Turin.
Norrie battled past the big hitting Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili in the final late last night. Basilashvili has a powerful game and he rushed Norrie from the back of the court in the first set, but Norrie wrestled back control of the match and the Georgian’s unforced error count skyrocketed. Norrie has become something of an expert in grinding his opponents down, making the match physical and outlasting pretty much anyone.
The Babolat Pure Strike 16x19 that Norrie uses compliments his grinding baseline game. The Pure Strike is the ideal racket for consistency with its thin beam and great spin potential. Incidentally, the last man to win Indian Wells, Dominic Thiem, also uses the Pure Strike 16x19. The ability to create consistent, heavy topspin is greatly rewarded on the high bouncing hard courts in the desert.
There’s no telling what this title will mean for Cam’s careers going forward, it may well be what he is remembered for. Norrie, however, is hungry for more and has his sights set on qualifying for Turin where he would get the chance to compete with the world’s best.
There’s no doubt that this is a special time for British tennis. Hopefully the LTA can capitalise on this resurgence and get more people playing the sport we all love so much. If your child is showing an interest in the sport, check out our junior racket guide:
Written by Aron Dochard
