Draper sets up Djokovic match in Indian Wells as Norrie beats De Minaur

Jack Draper will continue his Indian Wells title defence against Novak Djokovic after an impressive win on Monday – while Cameron Norrie claimed a major third-round scalp.

British number one Draper beat Argentina’s world number 20 Francisco Cerundolo 6-1 7-5 to set up a last-16 meeting with 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic.

Djokovic, the world number three, overcame American Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-4 1-6 6-4 to keep his own campaign going.

Draper, 24, returned last week after an eight-month absence from the ATP Tour because of an arm injury.

And the world number 14 continued his comeback with a more commanding performance than he delivered during his second-round win over Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut.

He is glad to be back but eager to stress these are early days in his mission to recover prime form.

“I’m only just getting to the point where I’m playing without pain in my arm, so it’s not easy to feel really confident,” Draper told Sky Sports.

Draper claimed the first set inside 32 minutes before Cerundolo provided a sterner test in the second, breaking Draper’s serve in the opening game.

A further break meant Cerundolo had the chance to serve for the set at 5-4 up, but Draper resisted and took the next three games to clinch victory on his first match point.

Draper’s win means he will face 38-year-old Djokovic for the first time since he took the first set off the defending champion on his Wimbledon debut in 2021.

“I’ve been watching him since I was a young boy and in my opinion he’s the greatest player of all time,” said Draper.

“When you come up against him you know he’s going to be there mentally, you know he’s going to make it an incredibly tough match and play some crazy tennis. I’m going to have to be ready for that.”

The victories for Norrie and Draper came a day on from fellow Briton Emma Raducanu being well beaten by American Amanda Anisimova, winning only two games and being ousted in 52 minutes.

Norrie is the 27th seed in the men’s draw but played above that status as he earned three breaks en route to victory over De Minaur.