By Rory Carroll
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (Reuters) – Cameron Norrie won the biggest title of his career six months ago at Indian Wells and he is embracing the quick turnaround now that the tournament has returned to its regular March date on the tennis calendar.
The 2020 edition of the Masters 1000 event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2021 tournament was pushed back to October, when the weather conditions in the Southern California desert can be quite different.
None of that is of concern to the in-form Briton, who won the Delray Beach Open last month before reaching the Acapulco final, where he lost a hard-fought match to Rafa Nadal.
“It’s a pretty quick turnaround but I can’t complain,” Norrie told reporters on Thursday.
“It’s good memories here from only six months ago. I like the conditions here obviously and it’s exactly where I want to be, coming back here and defending a huge title.”
He said he knows he has a target on his back after his triumph last year and said staying focused even when things are not going his way was key.
“Other players know that I did well here and won the title last year so they’re going to be out to get me,” he said.
“I’m just going to take it one match at a time. The draw is absolutely stacked so it’s going to be very difficult.”
Norrie does not have a single weapon he relies on to overwhelm his opponents and prefers to extend points and grind down his opposition.
“The biggest thing is to do more of the same,” he said.
“I had a lot of success last year and if I can do more of the same, execute a little bit better, be slightly more aggressive and play the bigger points on my terms, it’s always going to be good news.”
Norrie begins his title defence on Saturday.
(Editing by Ed Osmond)
