- Cameron Norrie def. Karen Khachanov [12] 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
- Norrie v David Goffin [8] | H2H: First meeting
BARCELONA, SPAIN – Cameron Norrie fought through a tricky second round match against Karen Khachanov to set up a meeting with David Goffin.
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Cameron Norrie def. Karen Khachanov [12] 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
British No. 2 Cameron Norrie avenged his recent Rotterdam loss to Karen Khachanov by grinding him down here in Barcelona. Norrie reaches the third round for the third straight event.
The pair started the match strongly, engaging in some gruelling rallies in their first meeting on the clay. The clear contrast of styles was on full display as Norrie managed to neutralise the 12th-seed’s heavy groundstrokes en route to claiming the opener.
Khachanov started to go for his shots a lot more as he began to hit freely, pinning the Brit in his backhand corner before effortlessly striking a winner to the other side. All the momentum was in the Russian’s favour as he levelled the match at one set apiece.
The World No. 23 struggled to maintain his level of play in the decider, as Norrie dug deep and tightened up his game. The 25-year-old showed his resilience once again and wore down the Russian to remain unbeaten on the clay in 2021. The Brit managed to win 74% of points behind his first serve, which is impressive considering it isn’t a major weapon of his.
Cameron Norrie v David Goffin [8] H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Cameron Norrie v David Goffin [8] | H2H: First meeting |
| ATP Barcelona | Barcelona, Spain |
| Clay | Prize Money: €24,900 |
| Scheduled third on Pista Manolo Santana | Amazon Prime Video <– Sign up for trial |
Norrie will face David Goffin, the eighth seed, for a place in the quarter-finals.
Tale of the Tape – Key Stats (2021)
| H2H: | Cameron Norrie (WR: 58) | David Goffin [8] (WR: 12) |
| Tournament Previous Best | Round of 64 (2019) | Semi-finals (2018) |
| 1st Serve % | 66 | 59 |
| Service Games Won % | 77 | 77 |
| Break Points Saved % | 57 | 57 |
| 2nd Serve Return Points Won % | 53 | 53 |
| Break Points Converted % | 42 | 42 |
Both players have almost identical stats. Goffin trails in the first serve percentage department, although he certainly makes up for it with his aggressive style of baseline tennis.
Playing Styles
Pound-for-pound, Goffin is up there with the best players in the world. The diminutive Belgian strikes the ball so cleanly and can often dominate his opponents for large portions of a match. The 30-year-old has a tonne of experience on the clay and has a Roland Garros quarter-final to back it up.
Goffin likes to take the front foot in the rallies and move his opponents from side to side with devastating effect. A steady serve and excellent return help him exchange in the kind of points he loves to play.
Norrie is more of a counterpuncher and is more than happy to sit back an absorb what his opponent throws at him. The unseeded Brit will look to be a brick wall from the baseline and squeeze the unforced errors out of Goffin, which can happen from time to time.
Prediction
This has all the makings of another impressive win for Norrie. The Belgian is currently on a seven match losing streak to British players – with losses to Dan Evans, Kyle Edmund and Andy Murray dating back to the 2015 Davis Cup Final. Despite the sizeable gap in the rankings, this could go either way but Goffin certainly has the edge.
Prediction: Goffin in three sets.
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