Melbourne: New Zealand-raised Briton Cameron Norrie stormed into the final of the Auckland Open with a 6-3 6-4 win over Jenson Brooksby yesterday, while Thanasi Kokkinakis’s title defence at the Adelaide International 2 came to an end in the semi-finals.
World number 12 Norrie, who continued his unbeaten start to the season ahead of the Australian Open, will face Richard Gasquet for the title today after the French veteran was awarded a walkover in his semi-final against compatriot Constant Lestienne, who withdrew with a shoulder injury.
Norrie lost only a single point on his own serve in the opening set and was all over the American’s, finally achieving the breakthrough that all but assured him of the set after Brooksby had saved five break points.
Despite a wrist problem that needed a injury timeout, Brooksby made the second seed work hard for the victory in the second set but every time he asked a question, Norrie had an answer.
An early break of serve by the American was answered with an immediate break back to love and Norrie broke again to take a 4-3 lead, finally reaching his 12th career ATP final on his third match point.
“It was an absolute battle with Jenson, lot of long rallies, I know how well he competes so I’m just glad to get it done in straight sets,” said Norrie, the runner up in Auckland in 2019.
“I really enjoyed it. I’m glad the sun came out, everyone came out on a Friday, the atmosphere was great.”
However, Jack Draper was unable to match compatriot Norrie’s feat by making it into the final of the other ATP warm-up for the Australian Open being played this week in Adelaide.
Draper, who will play Rafa Nadal in the opening round at Melbourne Park next week, was beaten 7-6(6) 6-7(2) 6-3 by South Korean Kwon Soon-woo in the first semi-final before Kokkinakis lost to Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut.
Kokkinakis, who claimed his first ATP title at Adelaide last year, was cheered on by a vocal home crowd, but Agut displayed remarkable composure to save nine break points in the deciding set and claim a 7-6(4) 3-6 6-3 victory.

Teenager leads historic Chinese charge at Australian Open
Gifted 17-year-old Shang Juncheng will lead a historic Chinese charge at the Australian Open next week - more evidence of the growing strength of tennis in the Asian country.
Three male Chinese players including the teenager will compete in Melbourne in the main draw, a first at any Grand Slam since the Open era began in 1968, officials at the tournament and Chinese media said.
Former junior number one Shang - also known as “Jerry” - battled through qualifying and faces Oscar Otte of Germany in the first round, where he will be joined by fellow Chinese athletes Zhang Zhizhen and Wu Yibing.
The 23-year-old Wu last year became the first Chinese man in 63 years to win a singles match at a Grand Slam when he knocked 31st seed Nikoloz Basilashvili out of the US Open.
Wu reached the third round in New York, another milestone.
There will also be seven Chinese players in the women’s singles draw in Melbourne, led by the fast-emerging Zheng Qinwen, 20, who is ranked 30th in the world and touted as a possible future major champion.