By Tony Fairbairn
- Cameron Norrie [2] def David Goffin 6-3 6-4
- Norrie v Sebastian Baez [6] | H2H: Norrie leads 1-0
LYON, FRANCE – Cameron Norrie began his Lyon title defence with a straight sets win over David Goffin as he now faces Sebastian Baez in the quarter-finals.
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Cameron Norrie [2] def David Goffin 6-3 6-4
Cameron Norrie began his Lyon title defence with a straight sets victory over David Goffin to reach the last eight. The first two games saw both players battling for authority from the baseline with plenty of resilience and variety being shown. It was Norrie’s power on the backhand, which allowed him to open up the space on the court and neutralise Goffin’s power from the baseline.
Both games went to deuce but it was Norrie who was better on the bigger points as he won both games as well as consolidating the break to take a 3-0 lead. The Belgian narrowly avoided the double break deficit on more than one occasion as he gained confidence and adapted to Norrie’s aggressive game. Despite this, Norrie was composed and executed his gameplan perfectly as he sealed the opening set to love, gaining the early advantage.
Unlike the first set, the second set was anything but straightforward as Goffin produced more aggressive shot-making and was more clinical on the pressure points. Norrie made a handful of errors and the world number 113 took advantage to take a 3-0 lead at the beginning of the second set.
Norrie would gain control of the match after maintaining consistency from the baseline, producing effective counter-attacking tennis to claim the next three games. In the closing stages of the match, Goffin gave Norrie a tough test as he continued to test the Brit’s patience in the longer rallies. After saving break point in the eighth game, Norrie would pass the test by breaking for a 5-4 lead.
Despite facing two break points, Norrie claimed victory on his first match point to begin his title defence in Lyon with victory.
Cameron Norrie [2] v Sebastian Baez [6] H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Cameron Norrie [2] v Sebastian Baez [6] | H2H: Norrie leads 1-0 |
| ATP Lyon 2023 | Lyon, France |
| Clay (O) | Prize Money: €17,010 |
| Second on Court Centrale, not before 12:30pm (11:30am BST) | Amazon Prime Video <– Sign up for trial |
Norrie will face sixth seed and clay court specialist Sebastian Baez for a place in the semi-finals with the Brit winning their only meeting at the same stage in Lyon last year.
Tale of the Tape – Key Stats (2023)
| H2H: | Cameron Norrie (WR 14) | Sebastian Baez (WR 44) |
| Tournament Previous Best | Champion (2022) | QF (2022) |
| 1st Serve % | 65.1 | 70.8 |
| Service Games Won % | 80.4 | 75.2 |
| Break Points Saved % | 58.6 | 57.3 |
| 2nd Serve Return Points Won % | 52.8 | 53.9 |
| Break Points Converted % | 39.8 | 37.7 |
Norrie will look to improve his first serve percentage as he aims to maintain a consistent level throughout the whole of the match.
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Playing Styles and Prediction
In comparison to last season, Baez has had a very poor clay court season this year with Lyon being the only ATP tour tournament where he has won back-to-back matches on clay. Now Baez looks to turn a corner in his season and gain some confidence heading into Roland Garros as he looks to prevent falling down the rankings even further.
Norrie will look to apply the pressure on Baez by being aggressive from the baseline and maintaining a consistent level throughout the whole match. Meanwhile Baez will look to improve his break point conversion rate as he will extend the rallies from the baseline and make this a war of attrition. This will be a tough match for Norrie but his aggressive play in big moments should see him advance to the last four.
Prediction: Norrie in straight sets.
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