The ATP Indian Wells Masters final pits Cameron Norrie against Nikoloz Basilashvili in a match between two debutants in Masters 1000 finals. Both players have looked great this week, but only one will be able to take their career to new heights with a victory in this match. In our men’s tennis predictions for today, we look at Norrie vs Basilashvili and reveal who we think will get their first Masters title on Sunday in California.
Cameron Norrie vs Nikoloz Basilashvili
Why Bet On Basilashvili:
✅ The forehand of Basilashvili has been the story of this tournament, as he has consistently unleashed forehand winners at 80 mph and above. Despite the slow, gritty court surface at Indian Wells, Basilashvili has been one of the few players in this field who has been able to hit through the court on ground strokes.
✅ Cam Norrie has been very impressive during this campaign at Indian Wells. But he has faced precisely zero players who have power in their arsenal the way that Basilashvili does. There will be an adjustment required from Norrie, and the Georgian should give him a stern wake-up call as if to say that Norrie isn’t playing Diego Schwartzman anymore.
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✅ Norrie beat Basilashvili in straight sets back in March, which is their only head-to-head meeting coming into this match. But that match was the last match in a run of 10 losses in 12 matches on hard courts for the Georgian. After that, Basilashvili won the title in Doha and has completely turned things around. He will be a different player in this final.
Cameron Norrie
Cam Norrie has finished strong this week, demolishing Diego Schwartzman and Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets in the quarterfinals and semifinals to get to the Indian Wells final. Norrie had gone three sets against his first three opponents at this tournament before catching fire against two bigger name opponents on Friday and Saturday. But his road to the final has had a glaring hole in it that could cost him in this Norrie vs Basilashvili match.
Norrie has yet to play anyone with real weapons off the ground in this tournament. His biggest wins at this event, over Schwartzman and Dimitrov, came against opponents who prefer to absorb the pace of other players and coax errors out of opponents. Basilashvili is more inclined to bring the match to his opponents with power hitting, which could present a problem for Norrie, though Norrie is more than solid enough to hold his own.
Nikoloz Basilashvili
Nobody has had a better week at Indian Wells than Nikoloz Basilashvili, who has made the final after beating Taylor Fritz in straight sets in the semifinals. That win over Fritz was a follow-up on his three-set victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas, who was expected to make quick work of the Georgian before that match took place. Now Basilashvili is one win away from finishing the job and becoming one of the more unlikely Masters 1000 champions in recent memory.
For Basilashvili, the key to this match will be continuing to play aggressively with his groundstrokes without spraying errors all over the court. Nerves are likely to be a factor for both men in their first final at this level. But the power of the Georgian could see those nerves result in more errors if he is unable to rein them in.
