tennis | Thursday, January 12, 2023 2:14 PM (Revised at: Friday, January 13, 2023 10:18 AM)

Thursday Tennis Best Bet: ATP Auckland, Cameron Norrie vs Jenson Brooksby

Jon Reid

Cameron Norrie vs Jenson Brooksby Best Bet: Thursday, January 12th

Deserved loss for Sebastian Ofner in the final round of qualifying. What a time to play one of the poorest matches in quite some time. Simply couldn’t find the consistency when putting points away, and squandered several set points in the second set behind his own serve.

Onto Thursday, where we’ll preview the semifinal match between Cameron Norrie and Jenson Brooksby in Auckland.

In this article:

Cameron Norrie vs Jenson Brooksby Preview
Cameron Norrie vs Jenson Brooksby Best Bet

Cameron Norrie vs Jenson Brooksby Preview

January 13th, 4:00 (UK Time)

It’s been a strong week for Brooksby after a relatively poor 2022 campaign. Wins over Fabio Fognini and Diego Schwartzman are tough to put too much weight behind, but beating the ascending Quentin Halys, who served really well, was impressive.

With his first serve looking a little stronger to start the year, it’s been a much-needed strong start for the American.

With that said, this is a tough matchup for him, as Norrie does all the same things as him, but at a higher level.

In a matchup of two guys that don’t possess a whole lot of power, or imposing weapons from the baseline, Norrie does just about everything at a higher level.

His movement is a bit more impressive, and his groundstrokes are played with a purpose more often. Where Brooksby moves the ball around really well, Norrie actually constructs the points with intention. Finally, the mental game is another department in which I’d give the edge to the Brit. Brooksby can get frustrated with himself when things aren’t going to plan from time to time, and against a wall like Norrie, that can be extremely detrimental.

Cameron Norrie vs Jenson Brooksby Best Bet

Motivation can be tricky to gauge at this juncture of weeks before a grand slam, so backing Norrie here is of an added benefit.

First, the world No. 12 simply doesn’t give anything less than 100%. It isn’t in his nature or game style. For an added layer of assurance, though, Norrie has been to the final in Auckland before and enjoys playing in the capital city of the country he once represented at the international level. The former Kiwi enjoys strong crowd support at the event, and generally looks to go as deep as possible.

Along with his incredible form to start the season, the matchup advantage he has in this one makes me keen to back him to keep the winning ways going.