- Cameron Norrie [10] def Hugo Gaston 6-3 7-5
- Norrie v Casper Ruud [6] | H2H: Ruud leads 2-0
MIAMI, USA – Cameron Norrie is on the verge of reaching the top 10 after beating Hugo Gaston in straight sets and now faces world number eight Casper Ruud in the fourth round.
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Cameron Norrie [10] def Hugo Gaston 6-3 7-5
Cameron Norrie is nearing a place in the top 10 in the world with a straight sets win over talented Frenchman Hugo Gaston. Norrie started in passive and nervy fashion with the Frenchman taking advantage with some aggressive returning to break in the opening game. However the Brit responded emphatically, using the whole width of the court to create great angles and transitioning from defence into attack with ease.
Norrie ground out the break back in the next game on his fourth break point and the broke to 15 in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead. Both players found success on return with Gaston saving two more break points in the next service game to hold and keep the set in touching distance.
The Frenchman created some aggressive patterns on return in the next game but Norrie played some bold tennis on big points to take a 5-2 lead. That was the big moment in the set as the Brit would efficiently close out the opening set in 51 minutes of high-quality tennis.
In the second set Gaston found his serve more consistently and was able to dictate play more easily. Despite this Norrie was still finding his first serve on a consistent basis and was able to hit effective patterns of play on serve. Eventually it was the world number 10 who got the crucial break in the seventh game to take a 4-3 lead.
After holding serve comfortably, Norrie had the chance to break for the match at 5-3 with the Brit creating five match points on Gaston’s serve. However the world number 68 held on and would break in the next game to level the set at 5-5.
In the end though, Norrie’s variety and confidence was enough to seal the victory as he broke again, clinching the match in the next game on his eighth match point. It now means that Norrie is into the last 16 and more importantly only Jannik Sinner reaching the final or one of Hubert Hurkacz and Taylor Fritz winning the title would prevent the Brit from being a top 10 player.
Cameron Norrie [10] v Casper Ruud [6] H2H & Match Fundamentals
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Cameron Norrie [10] v Casper Ruud [6] |
H2H: Ruud leads 2-0 |
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ATP Miami |
Miami, USA |
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Hard (O) |
Prize Money: $94,575 |
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First on Grandstand Court, at 11am (4pm BST). |
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Next up for Norrie is the in-form Casper Ruud who is building momentum towards the clay court season.
Tale of the Tape – Key Stats (2022 – Hard)
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H2H: |
Cameron Norrie (WR 12) |
Casper Ruud (WR 6) |
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Tournament Previous Best |
R3 (2021) |
R1 (2017, 2019) |
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1st Serve % |
66.4 |
63.3 |
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Service Games Won % |
81.8 |
94.6 |
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Break Points Saved % |
61.3 |
0 |
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2nd Serve Return Points Won % |
54.6 |
51.2 |
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Break Points Converted % |
43.2 |
47.4 |
Ruud has the advantage on Norrie in break point conversion rate and winning service games but the Norwegian has had a terrible record when saving break points, which is something Norrie can expose in this match.
Playing Styles and Prediction
After a rough start to the season, Ruud seems to be picking up some form in Miami having won back-to-back hard court matches for the first time this season. The Norwegian won a title in Buenos Aires on the clay and will be looking to build his confidence this week as his favourite time of the year approaches.
Norrie’s will be looking to be consistently aggressive on return and also start the match efficiently. The Norwegian has only dropped nine games this week and will have energy to burn in this match. This is a 50-50 match and could go either way but Norrie seems to have the most confidence heading into this match and conditions will favour his game style but expect this match to go all the way with a place in the quarter-finals at stake.
Prediction: Norrie in three sets.
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