Former champs Norrie, Fritz up & running in Indian Wells

A Saturday in the office was no trouble for Cameron Norrie at the BNP Paribas Open, where the 28th seed dispatched Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 6-4 in the second round.

The 2021 Indian Wells champion used his lefty slice to pull the Italian off court on the ad-side and worked the angles precisely to advance after 90 minutes. Despite letting slip a match point on serve at 5-2, Norrie quickly rebounded to level his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Sonego at 1-1.

"I missed a couple balls and he started playing a little bit better," Norrie said of his final service game, in which he trailed 0/30. "I missed two first balls that I should make and I was down 0/30 and I was like, 'Wow.' I didn't do anything that special, just made a lot of first serves. Fortunate to be through."

Norrie fended off a break point when serving at 3-2 in the opening set and then proceeded to drop just one point behind his delivery the remainder of the set. The Briton continued to step inside the court, hammering his forehand down-the-line and displaying deft touch with drop shots. 

Three wins shy of 200 career singles victories, the five-time tour-level titlist Norrie will next face eight seed Hubert Hurkacz or Gael Monfils. Norrie, who is World No. 28 in the PIF ATP Rankings, is 9-4 this season. He is 8-0 when he holds a one-set lead.

Sonego, 28, will take the court again Saturday in doubles action when he partners countryman Jannik Sinner in a first-round clash against Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev.

Another former champion, Taylor Fritz, also kick started his Indian Wells campaign in straight-sets fashion Saturday. The home favourite and 2022 titlist defeated Chilean Alejandro Tabilo 7-6(2), 6-2.

World No. 12 Fritz generated first-strike tennis, crushing 24 winners — including 14 aces — to just seven unforced errors throughout the 74-minute match. Fritz won 45 of his 53 service points.

"I needed to play really well and protect my serve," said Fritz, who made the quarter-finals last year. "He's been playing really well, a title [in Auckland], a final [in Santiago]. He's a good player. It's a good thing that I always feel confident coming out here."

Aiming for his second title this season after triumphing in Delray Beach, Fritz will next meet 19th seed Sebastian Baez or Fabio Fognini.

Grigor Dimitrov continued his red-hot form in the California desert with a 7-5, 6-2 triumph over Frenchman Alexandre Muller.

The Bulgarian, who has reached at least the final in three of his past five events including a title run in Brisbane, struck the ball with conviction and produced a highlight reel of shotmaking to advance.

In the opening set, Dimitrov even hit a forehand from the ground after he slipped while closing the net. He quickly stood up and despite Muller’s shot clipping the net cord, Dimitrov sealed the point with a backhand volley winner.

Boasting a 14-3 season record, 13th seed Dimitrov will next meet another Frenchman, 21st seed Adrian Mannarino, who cruised past Czech Tomas Machac 6-1, 6-2 to end his three-match losing skid.

#NextGenATP teen Arthur Fils downed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-3, 6-4 after winning 24 of his 27 first-serve points and not facing a break point during the one-hour, 17-minute encounter.

Fils was also aggressive on return, winning 59 per cent of his second-serve return points. The one-time tour-level titlist is up to No. 37 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, just three shy of tying his career high.