Britain’s number one Cameron Norrie has reached the final of the ASB Classic in Auckland as he tries to complete his Australian Open preparation with a first title of the season.
Norrie, the world number 12, will face Frenchman Richard Gasquet on Saturday.
The 27-year-old Briton recorded a 6-3 6-4 victory in the semi-final against American Jenson Brooksby.
Gasquet, 36, was surprised by his injured compatriot Constant Lestienne.
Rising star Jack Draper will also play his Adelaide International 2 semi-final against South Korea’s Kwon Soon-woo on Friday.
The 21-year-old, who will face defending champion Rafael Nadal in the first round of the Australian Open, could meet Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis or Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut in the final.
Auckland-raised Norrie has won all six matches he has played this year as he prepares for his Australian Open first-round meeting with French wildcard Luca van Assche.
With a victory over Nadal among his three United Cup victories earlier this month, Norrie maintained his strong start to the year with his first win in straight sets in Auckland following victories over Marcos Giron and Jiri Lehecka.
He admitted a lack of concentration “it was complicated” against Giron as the American forced a deciding set, but Norrie was able to recover from a 2–0 fall in their second set against Brooksby and won six of the next eight games to close the game.
The Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the new season, takes place at Melbourne Park from January 16-29.
