World No. 29 Cameron Norrie is scheduled to face Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals of the 2026 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells on Thursday, March 12. So far, he has shown incredible form and prevailed over his opponents without dropping a single set, looking to lift another title at the Tennis Paradise.
Right before the high-octane clash, the British No. 2 opened up about his opponent and being persuaded by Jannik Sinner.
Jannik Sinner Persuaded Cameron Norrie Before Indian Wells
Norrie reached the final eight at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden by defeating World No. 117 Rinky Hijikata 6-4, 6-2 in his Round of 16 match in just 77 minutes. In his third-round match, he had defeated another Australian, World No. 6 Alex de Minaur, 6-4, 6-4 in straight sets, stunning the 2026 ATP Rotterdam champion.
In his first match, the 2021 Indian Wells champion defeated American qualifier Mackenzie McDonald 6-2, 6-3 after receiving a bye in the first round.
Now that he has his eyes set on the Spaniard, Norrie is leaving no stone unturned, preparing for the match as much as possible.
Interestingly, during his first practice session at the venue, he was allotted Center Court with Sinner, with a two-hour time limit, but the Italian managed to persuade the Briton. Both players kept practicing beyond the two-hour mark, changing their plans due to the extended time on court, which Norrie thoroughly enjoyed.
In an interview with the BBC, the World No. 29 said, “I had a practice with Jannik Sinner, it was my first practice here. We had the centre court, and it was meant to be two hours, but we were both having an unreal practice and both enjoying it.”
Describing Sinner’s persuasion, he added, “He’s like, ‘No, come on man, let’s keep going.’ I had something to do for the tournament, and he had a photoshoot, and he was just like, ‘Cancel that.'”
To adjust to the Italian’s schedule, Norrie texted his agent: “I had to text my agent and postpone my thing, and we kept going. I think we played about three hours and 20 minutes.”
“That really got me going for the tournament, and that set the tone really high,” the 2021 champion said while concluding. This shows that despite their busy schedules before the tournament, both players made time to continue the high-intensity practice session, which they enjoyed.
Cameron Norrie Previews Quarterfinal Showdown with Carlos Alcaraz
After winning the fourth-round match against Hijikata, Norrie spoke with the Tennis Channel, expressing his excitement to face Alcaraz. He said, “I always play well when I play him. We always have crazy matches.”
The Briton then focused on his gameplay and strategies, saying, “I think I’m a tricky guy to play against, and I’m there every single point. And I think sometimes he can struggle with this, but I’m going to have to play well.”
Norrie talked about Alcaraz’s ability to break his opponents’ serve in big matches and how he makes them run the entire court with big returns, dropshots, and net points. “I’m going to be unpredictable to have a chance with him,” he said while praising the calm composure of the World No. 1.
Norrie mentioned how he enjoys watching Alcaraz and will try to beat the 2023 and 2024 champion to reach the final four and possibly even lift the trophy.
Both players have locked horns eight times before their upcoming clash, with Alcaraz having a 5-3 edge over Norrie. They previously met once at the same stage at the same tournament back in 2022, when the Spaniard defeated the Briton to reach the Indian Wells semifinals, where he lost to 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal.
However, their most recent matchup was won by Norrie in Paris at the ATP Masters 1000 last year in the second round. According to PFSN’s exclusive interactive simulator, Norrie has about a 7% chance of reaching the semifinal.
It would be interesting to see whether Norrie hands Alcaraz the first loss of his 2026 season or whether the 2021 Indian Wells champion is fed to the seven-time Grand Slam champion like many others.
