Norrie and Badosa confirm their emergence by winning Indian Wells

Cameron Norrie, who defeated Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, was playing his sixth final of the season, the highest tie with ... Novak Djokovic, sorry.

But he had only won one, in Los Cabos.

His Sunday victory, this time in a Masters 1000, allows the Briton born in Johannesburg and who grew up in New Zealand to jump from 26th to 15th place in the world rankings, and become the new British No.1 ahead of Daniel Evans.

"I'm so happy, it's my biggest title," he exulted.

Winner in the semi-final of the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov (former world No.3), Norrie had to overcome the loss of the first set in the final.

Basilashvili led a set and a break, and then ... nothing.

The Georgian lost the thread and let Norrie seize the second set, concluded with a shutout marked by high-level sequences, between a lob and balls licking the lines.

And Norrie to ride his momentum by signing at the start of the 3rd set a break then coming back from 0-40 to avoid the break and lead 3-0.

Basilashvili then showed signs of annoyance, multiplying unforced errors.

The 29-year-old Georgian, winner of two tournaments this year (Munich and Doha) and who caused a sensation by eliminating the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, world No. 3, in the quarter-finals, spoke of "health problems in the third set ".

A little earlier, the women's circuit had also seen the confirmation of a 2021 vintage nugget, Paula Badosa, defender of the Belarusian Victoria Azarenka 7-6 (7/5), 2-6, 7-6 (7/2) .

At 23, the Spaniard won the second title of her career, after the one gleaned in Belgrade earlier in 2021, even if it was thanks to the abandonment of the Croatian Ana Konjuh.

Above all, the native of New York who had started the year at the 70th place in the world and appeared in the Californian desert in 27th place will now make a leap in the WTA rankings, up to 13th place.

To reach the Sunday final of Indian Wells, on the occasion of his first participation in this tournament, the seeded N.21 had not lost a single set, eliminating in the last rounds successively the American Coco Gauff , the Czech Barbora Krejcikova (seed N.3), the German Angelique Kerber and finally the Tunisian Ons Jabeur.

The final was very intense.

In the tight opening set, Badosa led 4-0 in the tie-break, but Azarenka fell back to 5-5, before the Spaniard won in a spectacular rally.

Azarenka recovered by going it alone in the second set.

The third set offered other thrills: Azarenka was used to win the match at 5-4, but Badosa managed to thwart this dynamic, then to show a second time very solid in the tie-break.

She then collapsed, face down and her hands hiding her face, before going to wipe her tears in the arms of her trainer.

“I remember when I was 14, 15, I saw you playing in Grand Slam, and I told my coach that I wanted to play like Vica one day.

Without you and players like you, I wouldn't be here here, ”the Spaniard told the Belarusian during her speech after receiving the trophy.

Azarenka on her side failed to become the only player to win this tournament three times (after 2012 and 2016).

The 32-year-old two-time Australian Open champion and 2020 US Open finalist is still chasing her first tournament win in 2021.