Tommy Paul battles past former champ, leads American charge into Indian Wells fourth round

Tommy Paul defeated former Indian Wells champion Cameron Norrie to become the first American to reach the second week of this year's tournament. The world No. 11 secured his 50th Masters 1000 main draw victory in the opening matches of the third round.

From the outset, Paul was seen as a strong contender for a deep run, especially after recently breaking into the ATP Top 10 for the first time. The home crowd support has favoured the American No. 2, who has yet to drop a set in the tournament.

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First Set

Tommy Paul (No. 11) found his rhythm as the match progressed, dealing with challenging wind conditions in Indian Wells. He landed just 54% of his first serves, while former champion Norrie (No. 77) struggled even more with a low 37%.

The first set was heavily dictated by service breaks. Early on, Norrie secured a break, but Paul responded with two consecutive breaks of his own to take a 3-1 lead. However, more breaks followed on both sides, leaving Paul ahead at 4-3. In the first seven games alone, there were four breaks, an unusually high number for players known for their solid serving.

Paul then secured two more consecutive breaks—clinching the first set with a Norrie double fault—taking it 6-3 after 41 minutes. The American recorded 14 winners and 15 unforced errors, while Norrie managed just 5 winners and 9 unforced errors.

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Second set

At the start of the second set, both players seemed to stabilise their serving issues. Paul managed just a 50% first serve rate but won 81% of those points, while Norrie improved to 60% first serves with a 63% success rate.

The set remained tight until Paul broke in the sixth game, pulling ahead 4-2. However, Norrie quickly hit back, breaking Paul for the first time in the set to level at 5-5. With a tiebreak looming, Norrie faltered under pressure. Two costly double faults at 5-6—including on match point—handed Paul a 6-3, 7-5 victory.

Paul now awaits the winner of the match between fellow American young star Alex Michelsen and two-time Indian Wells finalist Daniil Medvedev, scheduled for Sunday evening.

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