Cameron Norrie is confident he is playing some of the best tennis of his career after breezing into the quarter-finals at Indian Wells with a 6-4 6-2 win over Australia's Rinky Hijikata.
Norrie, who won this tournament in 2021, broke the Australian in the first game of the match and continued to hold control, offering up only one break point - which Hijikata could not take - in the entire contest while snapping up three of the six he had himself.
The win puts Norrie into the last eight at Indian Wells for the first time since 2023, where he will now face world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz, who beat Casper Ruud 6-1 7-6.
After overcoming injury in 2024 and making adjustments to his game, Norrie said he has found a good balance, feeling physically strong while having more experience at the top level.
"This week I've felt I've played some of the best tennis of my life, but let's just keep enjoying it, keep going," Norrie said.
"It's nice to get the wins like that but more importantly I'm having so much fun on the court.
"It was a match where obviously I was the favourite on paper and I just felt really confident all week.
"I've been moving well, the ball has been feeling so good off the racket and I'm relaxed before the match so I can actually enjoy the match.
"It was a match where the pressure was a bit on me but I've been playing so well I just wanted to keep enjoying it and making it tough.
"[Hijikata] served really well midway through the first set to the middle of the second set but I was giving him nothing on my first serve and kept taking confidence away from him. Then I managed to sneak in an extra break at the end which helped."
As for Alcaraz, he relied on a near-flawless service game to beat Norway's Ruud in straight sets and says he's "staying positive" to maintain a "high intensity" in every match.
After Alcaraz raced trough the opening set in just 37 minutes, Ruud raised his level to force a tie-break but was unable to get the better of the Spaniard, who is "looking forward" to facing Norrie.
"He's always a tough player to play against. We had great battles and matches. In the last one he beat me," he told Your Site Tennis.
"He loves this tournament, so I have to be ready and prepared."
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