Indian Wells: Cameron Norrie beats Argentina's Diego Schwartzman to reach semi-finals

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Norrie is on the longest run at a Masters 1000 event

Cameron Norrie, a Briton, hailed the "biggest victory of my career" after beating Diego Schwartzman from Argentina in straight sets to reach Indian Wells Masters' semi-finals.

After his win in California, 6-0 6-2, Norrie is the new world number 26.

The 26-year old left-hander has never reached the final eight of a Masters 1000 tournament.

In the final four, Norrie will be facing Grigor Dimitrov or Hubert Hurkacz.

Norrie defeated the world number 15 in 73 seconds for his 45th win this season on the ATP Tour.

Norrie, speaking after the win, said that it was a huge moment for her to play in her first Masters 1000 quarterfinal against Diego.

"I was certain I was going to win. This is probably my biggest victory. It was a great way to handle everything.

Norrie beat Schwartzman in the first round at the 2020 US Open. This victory should give Briton enough ranking points for him to make it into the top 20 in the world.

"You have to be careful with Diego. He managed to sneak through a few matches during this tournament. Norrie said, "I had to keep my feet down and was able get that second break and relax to play some great tennis."

Greg Rusedski, the former British number one said on Amazon Prime: "It was an incredible performance by Norrie. To dismantle Schwartzman, it was the best tennis I have ever seen. He now has a great chance of reaching his first final. It was, in my opinion, his best performance on a court of tennis.

In the men's quarterfinals, Stefanos Tsitsipas, a second-seeded Greek player will take on unseeded Georgian Nikoloz Basashvili. Alexander Zverev, Germany's number four world ranking, takes on Taylor Fritz.

'Norrie showed no tension' - analysis

Russell Fuller, BBC tennis correspondent

Schwartzman, a player who was good enough to qualify last year for the ATP Finals in London and was not recognisable as such, but Norrie displayed no tension in a Masters quarter-final.

Six times out of seven, he broke the Argentine's serve. Schwartzman was a dejected man who slapped his hips when another point was against him.

Norrie has now won 45 matches this year. Novak Djokovic has more wins, but he has played in significantly more tournaments.

He might have done enough to make his debut in the top 20, and will replace Dan Evans on Monday as British number 1.

Norrie claims that this is a meaningless statement for him. It could be a position that will change more frequently in the months ahead.