Cameron Norrie eased into the second round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells as he secured a thumping 6-0 6-3 win over Luca Nardi in little more than an hour.
The British No 2, who won the tournament in 2021, dominated the 21-year-old Italian throughout but particularly in the opening set in which Nardi won only eight points on his own serve.
The second set proved to be a tighter contest as Nardi – who beat Novak Djokovic at Indian Wells last year – got on the board, but he was never able to threaten the Norrie serve.
With the first seven games going on serve, Norrie snatched his opportunity to break in the eighth and then served things out to wrap up a most convincing of victories in 64 minutes.
The 29-year-old will next face Czech 23rd seed Jiri Lehecka in the second round.
Jack Draper underlines the importance of his time away from tennis to be able to manage his body and prevent injuries.
British No 1 Jack Draper is the 13th seed and has a first-round bye. He will face his old junior rival Jacob Fearnley if the British debutant can get past Brazilian teenage star Joao Fonseca on Thursday – live on Sky Sports Tennis from 7pm.
Osaka knocked out | Raducanu returns on Thursday
In the women’s draw, Emma Raducanu and Sonay Kartal are also in action on Thursday, while top-ranked British hopeful Katie Boulter starts her campaign in the second round, seeded 25th.
Emma Raducanu says she’s happy to make her return at the Indian Wells after the stalking ordeal she suffered at the Dubai Championships, where she said she ‘couldn’t see the ball through tears’ and could ‘barely breathe’.
Raducanu will take on Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima at approximately 9pm – live on Sky Sports Tennis – in her first appearance since she was the target of “fixated behaviour” from a man during the Dubai Championships.
Raducanu approached the umpire’s chair in tears just two games into her defeat to Karolina Muchova after receiving repeated unwanted attention from a “fixated” man before and during the second-round match.
Emma Raducanu was in tears during her match with Karolina Muchova before continuing at the Dubai Championship.
Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of the first round in Indian Wells, the 22-year-old revealed she “couldn’t see the ball through tears” and could “barely breathe” during the ordeal in Dubai.
Meanwhile, former Indian Wells champion Naomi Osaka was knocked out in the first round in Indian Wells, suffering a 6-4 6-4 defeat to Colombia’s Camila Osorio on Wednesday.
The world No 53 becomes the first Colombian woman to beat a former world No 1. She takes on 22nd seed Clara Tauson of Denmark in the second round.
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