ATP TENNIS: With Andy Murray already knocked out, Cameron Norrie and Daniel Evans are Britain’s best hope of bringing back a trophy from this tournament. We preview the best of the action from the round of 64 on Saturday afternoon below.
Cameron Norrie v Grégoire Barrère
Cameron Norrie goes into this match as the heavy favourite with his world number 12 ranking the superior of the pair. Gregoire Barrère is 65th in the world currently and while he isn’t considered to be in the same tier of ability as Norrie, like with any sport, an upset is never off the cards.
While Norrie has the better experience over the last few months, Barrère has shown that he can defeat the best players, notably taking a win over 47th-ranked Marc Huesler and 42nd-ranked David Goffin.
Norrie on the other hand, has been consistently beating players of this calibre for years but has struggled to take the step further and really challenge for major titles by defeating players at the top level. Most recently, he looked to be in great form at Indian Wells, beating Alexander Rublev in straight sets before suddenly dipping in form and bowing out to Frances Tiafoe.
If Norrie can find the form that saw him beat world number one Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the Rio Open in February, he should win this comfortably, but it is so hard to predict with Norrie. His recent success might see him step off the pedal slightly, so our choice here is to lay the British number one.
Daniel Evans v Lorenzo Sonego
Now ranked number 29th in the world, Daniel Evans takes on 59th-ranked Lorenzo Sonego and, despite some poor form, will most likely go into the game as the favourite.
However, his opponent Sonego is in great form, and after beating Dominic Thiem in straight sets in his opening match at the tournament, this meeting might not be as clear-cut as the world rankings suggest.
Sonego is the underdog here, but his recent string of victories has shown he can beat the best comfortably when he hits his best level. The question here will be, can he find it against Evans, one of the most consistent players on the tour?
In the last two months, Sonego has beaten world number six Felix Auger-Alliassime and Marc Huesler, and had close matches with Jannik Sinner and Andy Murray, all players that looking at the rankings, are a tier above Sonego.
Evans, on the other hand, most recently lost to Jack Draper in straight sets at Indian Wells and goes into this game on a five-loss streak. Looking at recent form, this is easy to call, but with that said, Daniel Evans has been a top player and went on some incredible runs of form last year, so he is never one to discount.
Despite his history, it is hard to overlook the Italian Sonego here, who has the form, momentum and weather conditions in Miami to back him. Our money is on the underdog here.
