Could a ‘ghost’ win the NBO?

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There is only one player in the bottom half at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers that has won a Masters 1000 title — Cameron Norrie.

Norrie accomplished the feat at Indian Wells in 2021 and the way things are lining up in Montreal had the British lefty reminiscing about his run in the desert.

“It's a while ago, but definitely can take the confidence from that,” said Norrie. “And it was kind of a similar situation happening in that tournament. All the top seeds lost. I had to beat some good players, too. But I'm feeling the ball good.”

Only three Top 10 seeds made the quarterfinals in that fall edition of Indian Wells. Entering play Friday at the NBO, three of the Top 10 remain.

While Norrie knows plenty of work needs to be done, he is playing with house money after almost being out of the tournament against Alex de Minaur, who became the highest seed left after Wednesday’s action.

De Minaur held a match point at 5-2 in the second set on Thursday, only to double fault. Norrie ended up winning 5-7, 7-6 (5), 6-1 in nearly three hours in high heat and humidity.

READ: De Minaur misses match point, Fils looks sharp at NBO

He improved to 4-1 on hard courts against the newly married Australian.

“I can take so much confidence from this win, saving match points,” said Norrie. “And I'm a ghost in the tournament now, playing for free and shouldn't even be there. So, we'll take it.”

Being less than 100 percent contributed to a drop in the rankings for the former World no. 8 as he fell to No. 91 early last year.

He regrouped on the clay in 2025 and returned to the Top 20 this May before a rib injury halted his momentum.

After a first-round loss at Wimbledon, he took a break, resumed match action at an exhibition in Rio and reached the semifinals in Los Cabos last week.

Norrie lost to Toronto’s Denis Shapovalov in a long battle in a rare all-lefty clash, the kind of matches the super fit 30-year-old usually wins, but came away happy.

“I came here prepared with hitting a lot of balls and being in those high-pressure moments, 30-all, break point,” he said. “It was obviously unfortunate not to go away with a win in Cabo, but I was able to come here with terrible jet lag and make it work.”

“It was quick turnaround, and doesn't matter. I want to just play, play matches. And I don't have any regrets.”

He planned to do some sightseeing on Friday, returning to action Saturday in a first-time meeting with Arthur Fils.

Photo: Amélie Caron/Tennis Canada