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Match details
Fixture: (1) Cameron Norrie vs Brandon Nakashima
Date: 24 July 2021
Tournament: Los Cabos Open 2021
Round: Final
Venue: Los Cabos, Mexico
Category: ATP 250
Surface: Hardcourt
Prize money: $598,545
Match timing: Not before 8 pm local time, 2 am GMT, 10 pm ET, 7.30 am IST
Cameron Norrie vs Brandon Nakashima preview
Top seed Cameron Norrie will square off against American teenager Brandon Nakashima in the final of the 2021 Mifel Open at Los Cabos on Sunday.
For both Norrie and Nakashima, this would be a chance to lift their maiden ATP tour title. But Norrie has the experience of playing in finals before, having reached the summit clash at Auckland 2019, Estoril 2021, Lyon 2021 and Queen's 2021.
Nakashima, on the other hand, will be playing his first-ever ATP level final. That said, the American does own a 100% success rate in finals on the Challenger and Futures tours.
Cameron Norrie defeated home favorite Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-1 in 1 hour and 10 minutes on Saturday to make it to the final. The Brit saved all three of the break points he faced and broke Fritz's serve four times in what was a fairly comfortable win.
Norrie is yet to drop a set in Los Cabos so far, and has been broken just once in three matches (against Mikael Ymer).
Brandon Nakashima, meanwhile, ousted his big-serving compatriot John Isner 7-5, 6-4 for what is the biggest win of his career so far. The teenager fared better than Isner in the service department as he saved the only break point he faced.
More impressively, however, Nakashima had a better success rate on the first serve - 82% to Isner's 78%. The 19-year-old's performance on the return was great too, as he managed to win almost 40% of those points. That is an astounding feat against a server of Isner's caliber.
Cameron Norrie vs Brandon Nakashima head-to-head
Brandon Nakashima leads Cameron Norrie 1-0 in the head-to-head. The two faced each other at the 2020 Delray Beach Open, where the American won 7-5, 6-2.
Cameron Norrie vs Brandon Nakashima prediction
Brandon Nakashima has shown some impressive mental strength so far in Los Cabos. He rallied from match points down to beat Jordan Thompson in the quarterfinals, and held his nerve amazingly well against John Isner in the semis.
While the teenager's game is not the most spectacular, it is extremely disciplined and tactical. Nakashima plays to his strengths and makes good use of his topspin-heavy shots to push his opponents behind the baseline.
While Cameron Norrie is a great defender, he can struggle to finish points at times. The Brit is not the best at finishing points with his forehand, and he would be hoping to be more efficient with that shot in the final.
Brandon Nakashima is the underdog in this fixture, but given his performances in Los Cabos so far, a win for him on Sunday wouldn't be too surprising.
Prediction: Brandon Nakashima to win in three sets.
