The number 21 proved to be the lucky number in the 2021 Indian Wells Masters. In a tournament that featured so many surprises, the biggest ones saw the two No. 21 seeds in Cameron Norrie and Paula Badosa defying the Indian Wells Masters 2021 odds to become men’s and women’s singles champions.
The two solidified their status as 2021 breakout stars as they emerged victorious after a string of upsets in the early rounds robbed the tournament of many big-name players.
So what does this all mean for the ATP and WTA Tours moving forward? Read on below as SBOTOP shares its top takeaways from the Indian Wells Masters.
Norrie quickly making a name for himself
Cameron Norrie came from behind to defeat Nikoloz Basilashvili 3-6 6-4 6-1 in the Indian Wells Masters men’s singles final.
Norrie, the No. 21 seed, made history as he became the first Brit to claim the title at Indian Wells, which also happened to be his maiden ATP 1000 Masters title.
This triumph is just the continuation of what has been a remarkable season for the 26-year-old Brit. He has reached six tournament finals – tied with World No. 1 Novak Djokovic for the most on the ATP Tour – and has two titles to his name this year.
Thanks to his impressive form, Norrie is now very much in contention for the 2021 ATP Finals in Turin. He is currently in ninth place, just 125 points behind Hubert Hurkacz in the eighth and final spot.
Norrie had reached only one final prior to this season, so this clearly is a major step up in his performance.
It remains to be seen whether this Indian Wells win will be the first in a number of other major titles or if this will be the high point of Norrie’s career. Finding out the answer to that question will make Cameron Norrie a name to watch out for on tour next season.
Badosa’s breakout season continues
Similar to Norrie, Paula Badosa is also having an impressive breakout season that reached its apex at Indian Wells. The 23-year-old became the first Spanish woman to win the Indian Wells title as she overcame two-time champion Victoria Azarenka in a thrilling final that lasted over three hours.
This is the first WTA 1000 title for Badosa, who is finally living up to the potential she showed when she won the girls’ singles title at Roland Garros in 2015.
After battling bouts of depression, Badosa has put together a terrific 2021. She reached the quarter-finals of both the French Open and the Olympics, as well as the semi-finals of the Madrid Masters.
With her win, Badosa is now part of the top 8 players in the race to qualify for the season-ending WTA Finals in Akron. She is 92 points ahead of Ons Jabeur in ninth, while Naomi Osaka is further back in 10th.
Badosa would be the second-youngest player in the WTA Finals if she does hang on to qualify, and she would add to the growing list of emerging young women’s tennis stars.
Stars simply fail to shine
While the success of both Norrie and Badosa is certainly noteworthy and praise-worthy, this year’s Indian Wells Masters will still be remembered for the fact that the big-name stars just did not shine in sunny California.
This is particularly evident on the men’s side, where the shock Indian Wells Masters 2021 results led to all four semi-finalists being ranked outside of the Top 25 – the first time that has happened in an ATP Masters 1000 event since the series started in 1990.
Reigning US Open champion was ousted in the round of 16, while Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev were both shocked in the quarter-finals.
The women’s side was no different as just one of the top 10 seeds even reached the quarter-finals. Meanwhile, teenage US Open finalists Emma Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez were both unable to rediscover their superb form and made early exits.
Perhaps all the big stars’ underperformance is just a consequence of the tournament being moved back to the end of the season, where fatigue is more of an issue.
Whatever the reason, this is obviously a disappointing result for the prestigious tournament, which finally returned for the first time since the start of the pandemic. The lack of stars also played a part in the significantly smaller crowds and reduced excitement around the event than usual.
Hopefully, this year is just an outlier and that the return of the Indian Wells Masters to its usual place on the calendar in March will also lead to all the big stars shining bright once again.
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