Alex de Minaur suffered a very uncharacteristic loss at Indian Wells, falling in the third round to Cameron Norrie.
Norrie dispatched De Minaur after one hour and 39 minutes of action in California, much to the surprise of those watching the ATP clash.
The Australian, who won the Rotterdam Open earlier this season, was the sixth seed at Indian Wells, while Briton Norrie is the 27th.
But Norrie produced a superb performance to shock his opponent, who at the same time produced a very unusual return display.
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Alex de Minaur produces unusual return stats in Cameron Norrie loss
Norrie deserves huge credit for the upset, and indeed for his role in De Minaur’s very underwhelming and uncharacteristic performance.
He consistently ranks among the top ATP returners, helped by his rapid speed and determination to never give up the point.
But against Norrie at Indian Wells, De Minaur was outclassed by his opponent in every key area of returning, as per the ATP match stats.
He finished the match with a first serve return points won figure of just 24%, and a second serve return points won total of 48%.
A break points converted tally of just 14% summarised his efforts.
De Minaur (25) hit more winners than Norrie (16), but the former hit 30 unforced errors compared to the latter’s 22.
He won just 24 of his 70 return points for a total of 34%, again outshone by his rival’s tally of 24 from 57, equating to 42%.
| Cameron Norrie | Alex de Minaur | |
| 194 | Return rating | 97 |
| 12/35 (34%) | 1st serve return points won | 10/41 (24%) |
| 12/22 (55%) | 2nd serve return points won | 14/29 (48%) |
| 3/4 (75%) | Break points converted | 1/7 (14%) |
| 10 | Return games played | 10 |
In the current ATP 52-week return stats, De Minaur ranks fourth behind Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Francisco Cerundolo.
But he finished the 2025 season ranked behind only Sinner and Alcaraz in that area, and behind only Camilo Ugo Carabelli in 2024.
Alex de Minaur continues roller-coaster season with early Indian Wells exit
It’s been a roller-coaster season so far for De Minaur, the world number six and the highest-ranked Australian man by some margin.
He reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open to start his 2026 campaign, losing to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz.
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But he immediately bounced back by winning the Rotterdam Open, only to suffer a shock loss in his first Mexican Open match.
He again recovered by defeating Sebastian Korda at Indian Wells, but will now have plenty to ponder after losing to Norrie, who admittedly is a former champion in California.
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