Cameron Norrie in the third round of the 2023 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, California, USA
Cameron Norrie in the third round of the 2023 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, California, USA | (Photo by Mike Frey/Getty Images)

Tennis | ATP Barcelona 2023 | Norrie looking to overcome Monaco setback against Kotov

By Tony Fairbairn

  • Cameron Norrie [7] v Pavel Kotov [Q]
  • H2H: First Meeting
BARCELONA, SPAIN – Cameron Norrie is looking to respond to an early exit in Monaco last week as he takes on Pavel Kotov in his opening match in Barcelona.

 

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H2H & Match Fundamentals

Cameron Norrie [7] v Pavel Kotov [Q} H2H: First Meeting
ATP Barcelona 2023 Barcelona, Spain
Clay (O) Prize Money: €19,910
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Cameron Norrie is looking for a response after a first round exit in Monte-Carlo last week and first up for the seventh seed is qualifier Pavel Kotov.

 

Tale of the Tape – Key Stats (2023)

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H2H: Cameron Norrie (WR 13) Pavel Kotov (WR 108)
Tournament Previous Best QF (2021, 2022) N/A
1st Serve % 64.4 66.7
Service Games Won % 78.8 79.9
Break Points Saved % 58.9 61.1
2nd Serve Return Points Won % 53.9 52.4
Break Points Converted % 41.4 40

Norrie will look to be clinical on return against the high quality serving of Kotov with both players being consistent this season.

 

 

Playing styles and prediction

After a poor start to the year, Kotov has found his feet on the clay after reaching the semi-finals of Marrakech a couple of weeks ago. Now the qualifier will look to climb inside the world’s top 100 as he looks to continue his consistent statistics on clay.

Norrie will need to return well against the effective serving of Kotov with the qualifier maximising his serving strength so far this season. This will be a tough match for Norrie which will see the Brit needing to find the right balance between being aggressive but also not producing too many erratic unforced errors. If Norrie can dominate play on return then he should win in straight sets as he looks to build momentum ahead of Madrid.

Prediction: Norrie in straight sets.

 

 

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