Cameron Norrie breezes past Andrey Rublev to book quarter-finals spot

British number one Cameron Norrie powered his way into the quarter-finals at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells with a commanding straight-sets victory over Andrey Rublev.

The 27-year-old needed just 75 minutes to see off the Russian sixth seed 6-2 6-4 and claim an eighth successive win with one of his best performances of the season to date.

Norrie, who won the tournament in 2021 and beat world number two Carlos Alcaraz to secure Rio Open glory last month, will face either American Frances Tiafoe or Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo in the last eight.

A man on a MISSION 💪

2021 champ @cam_norrie marches into the last eight at Indian Wells for the third consecutive year, dominating Rublev 6-2, 6-4! @BNPPARIBASOPEN | #TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/gUSZd4TUCn
— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 14, 2023

In a match which started with three successive service breaks, it was the Briton who took the initiative to race into a 3-1 lead, breaking for a third time to give himself the chance to close out the first set.

Indeed, the world number 12 converted all five of his break points as he completed a victory which squared his ATP Head2Head series against 25-year-old Rublev at 2-2.

Speaking after the match, Norrie said: “Off the ground I was rock solid.

“It was a little cooler today so I felt like I had more time on the ball. I played well in the big moments.

“Andrey is not an easy guy to beat, so I was really pleased to come through in straight sets.”