Indian Wells (Agencies): British number two Cameron Norrie beat American Tommy Paul in three sets to reach the quarter-finals of the Indian Wells Masters.
World number 26 Norrie won 6-4 4-6 6-2 to claim his 44th win on the ATP Tour this year. The 26-year-old left-hander has never previously reached this stage of a Masters 1000 tournament. Norrie will face Diego Schwartzman in the last eight after the Argentine beat Norway’s Casper Rudd in straight sets.
If Norrie were to advance past Schwartzman – who he beat in the first round of the 2020 US Open – it will see him replace Dan Evans as the British number one and may also provide enough ranking points to break into the world’s top 20 for the first time in his career.
It would also take him closer to the coveted half-century mark of wins on the ATP Tour in a single season. Andy Murray and Tim Henman are the only Britons to have achieved that feat on the elite men’s circuit this millennium.
Also on Wednesday, US Open champion Daniil Medvedev was knocked out by Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov, losing 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. Russian Medvedev was the top seed at Indian Wells after winning his first Grand Slam title last month. He won the first set and was up 4-1 in the second when he collapsed, dropping eight straight games. Dimitrov will play Polish Wimbledon semi-finalist Hubert Hurkacz in the last eight.
The rest of the men’s quarter-finals line up sees Alexander Zverev take on American Taylor Fritz after the German beat Gael Monfils 6-1 6-3, while second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas will face unseeded Nikoloz Basilashvili. Tsitsipas, who made the final of the French Open in June, recovered from a set down to beat Australian Alex de Minaur 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-3) 6-2.
In the women’s tournament, Jelena Ostapenko reached her first WTA 1000 semi-final in three years with a 6-4 4-6 6-3 victory over Shelby Rogers. The Latvian will take on fellow Grand Slam winner Victoria Azarenka in the last four after the Belarusian overcame Jessica Pegula 6-4 6-2.
