By Tony Fairbairn
- Cameron Norrie [9] def Botic Van De Zandschulp 6-1 6-2
- Norrie v Felix Auger-Aliassime [6] | H2H: Auger-Aliassime leads 4-1
MONTREAL, CANADA – Cameron Norrie thrashed Botic Van De Zandschulp with the loss of three games to seal his place in the third round where he faces Felix Auger-Aliassime.
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Cameron Norrie [9] def Botic Van De Zandschulp 6-1 6-2
Cameron Norrie was in a hurry in Montreal as he thrashed Botic Van De Zandschulp in 66 minutes to reach the third round. The Dutchman displayed his aggressive style of play early and his accurate baseline play earned him a good start to the match as well as a break point in the third game.
However Norrie’s improved serving helped fend off Van De Zandschulp’s return depth in the opening set as the Brit extended the rallies, constructing effective patterns of play. Norrie would grind out the break in the next game using a lot of variety in power and that helped the Brit to a comfortable rest of the opening set. Only dropping two points in the last three games, the ninth seed cruised to the first set 6-1.
The start of the second set was just as comfortable as he broke in the opening game with some consistent returning. Van De Zandschulp had to find a next gear if he wanted to remain competitive and he tried everything to break Norrie in the fourth game but to no avail as the Brit once again came through a tight service game.
Norrie continued to expose Van De Zandschulp’s lack of consistency as the unforced errors continued to reel off the Dutchman’s racket. A double break lead all but secured the victory as Van De Zandschulp managed to win one more game to force Norrie to serve out the match. Serve out the match Norrie did as he progresses into the last 16 in Canada for the first time in his career.
Cameron Norrie [9] v Felix Auger-Aliassime [6] H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Cameron Norrie [9] v Felix Auger-Aliassime [6] | H2H: Auger-Aliassime leads 4-1 |
| ATP Montreal | Montreal, Canada |
| Hard (O) | Prize Money: $79,745 |
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Norrie will now face hometown hero and sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime who the Brit has a bad head-to-head record against.
Tale of the Tape – Key Stats (2022)
| H2H: | Cameron Norrie (WR 11) | Felix Auger-Aliassime (WR 9) |
| Tournament Previous Best | R2 (2019) | R3 (2019) |
| 1st Serve % | 66.2 | 63.6 |
| Service Games Won % | 80.7 | 84.3 |
| Break Points Saved % | 62.2 | 63.9 |
| 2nd Serve Return Points Won % | 53.1 | 48.8 |
| Break Points Converted % | 43.6 | 35.1 |
Auger-Aliassime has proven to be the more dominant player on serve but it’s Norrie who has been more efficient on break point opportunities.
Playing Styles and Prediction
Auger-Aliassime has had a good season at the grand slams this season especially with him pushing Daniil Medvedev and Rafael Nadal to the limit at the Australian Open and Roland Garros respectively. However the Canadian will be disappointed to have not won a title since his triumph in Rotterdam and will look to change that this week.
Norrie will try to be more aggressive in this match than he has been in previous matches against the Canadian and the serve will be the key to implementing that strategy. Auger-Aliassime will look to take more chances on the big points and put the Brit under as much pressure as possible. This is Norrie’s best chance to beat the Canadian but the home crowd could inspire Auger-Aliassime to new heights which makes this an intriguing match-up.
Prediction: Norrie in three sets.
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