Cameron Norrie keeps Lyon title defence on track with last eight win

British No 1 Cameron Norrie continued his solid run in the Lyon Open with victory over sixth seed Sebastian Baez to reach the semi-finals.

The defending champion secured a 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 victory in his quarter-final clash with Baez, who he defeated at the same stage in last year's competition.

A strong third set saw Norrie reach the semis in Lyon for a fourth time and he was pleased with his confidence going into that decider.

"The second set he came back strong, he was winning the tougher games like I was in the first set," Norrie told the ATP website.

"I tried to reset and came out with a lot of energy.

"I have won a lot of three-set matches this year, so I had a lot of confidence going into the decider and I thought it was a solid match."

Norrie set ouit to bully Baez with heavy forehands and an aggressive approach on return in the decider.

The Brit won 55 per cent (6/11) of points against Baez's first serve in the third set to clinch progression after one hour and 53 minutes.

Norrie now leads Baez 2-0 in their ATP Tour Head-to-head record, having defeated the Argentine in the quarter-finals in the same Lyon Open last year.

Norrie is something of a dark horse on the red stuff. The World No. 14 captured his fifth tour-level title on clay in Rio earlier this season.

The victory sets up a semi-final against Francisco Cerundolo, who defeated Norrie's fellow Briton Jack Draper 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Thursday.

The fourth-seeded Argentine rallied from a set and a break down.

Cerundolo raised his intensity and level as the match progressed to advance to his first tour-level semi-final since Hamburg in 2022.

The 24-year-old is gunning for his second title on clay, having triumphed in Bastad last season.

Cerundolo has won five of his past six matches on clay after reaching the quarter-finals in Rome.

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