Cameron Norrie is firmly back in the win column after securing back-to-back victories at the Los Cabos Open, defeating Australia's James Duckworth 6-4 6-4 to advance to the quarter-finals in Mexico.
The result is especially encouraging for the British number two given the rough patch he endured heading into this tournament. Norrie had dropped six consecutive matches across clay and grass before kick-starting his summer hard-court campaign with a first-round victory over Aleksandar Kovacevic on Monday. Now he has strung together two wins and earned his third ATP quarter-final of the season.
The match itself was far from straightforward. Norrie dropped his opening service game and quickly found himself trailing 2-0, but he responded with two successive breaks to wrestle control and eventually close out the first set 6-4. The second set looked to be heading toward a comfortable conclusion when he broke twice to lead 5-2, but a wobble crept in. He was broken on his first serve-out attempt and required three match points before sealing victory in just over 90 minutes.
With Norrie seeded fifth, he is now the second-highest ranked player remaining in the draw following a series of eye-catching upsets. Top seed Jiri Lehecka was knocked out by Hong Kong's Coleman Wong, while Bernard Tomic caused another stir by eliminating fourth seed Karen Khachanov. Norrie will need to bring his best tennis when he faces Tomic, a former top-20 player, in the quarter-finals.
The Los Cabos draw has opened up considerably, giving Norrie a genuine shot at a deep run. TennisDraw users who backed Norrie as a sleeper pick will be feeling very good about their brackets right now.
