LONDON (Dispatches) -
British pair Dan Evans and Cameron Norrie have reached the third round of the Indian Wells Masters in California.
Evans beat Kei Nishikori 4-6 6-3 6-4, while Norrie came through 6-4 5-7 6-0 against American Tennys Sandgren.
British number one Evans recovered from a set down against the Japanese on his way to victory and faces Argentine Diego Schwartzman in the next round.
Norrie, who started and finished superbly, will next play Roberto Bautista-Agut of Spain.
Evans, 31, recovered from that first-set loss to win the second after a sublime flicked backhand down the line helped him break Nishikori.
He broke in the seventh game of the decider when his opponent netted a forehand before closing out the win.
The Briton had to show his battling qualities at the start of the third set when he faced two break points at 15-40 down and duly did so as he held to level at 1-1.
Evans also faced two break points when he served for the match, but held his nerve to eventually secure a hard-fought victory in two hours and 48 minutes.
“It was satisfying how I dealt with a bit of adversity after the first set and missed a few chances to get up, so it was nice to come through in a good, tough match,” he said.
Norrie swept into a 5-1 lead in the opening set and but allowed his opponent to almost draw level before managing to close out the set.
The 26-year-old British number two then gave up a lead in the second, which went the way of Sandgren. But then Norrie rediscovered that early rhythm to seal the win by taking every game in the final set.
He later told Amazon Prime he had “a lot to work on”, adding: “I don’t think I did much well today apart from fighting for every point”.
Meanwhile, Daniil Medvedev,top seed in the men’s draw, eased through with a 6-4 6-2 victory over American Mackenzie McDonald, while women’s top seed Karolina Pliskova beat Pole Magdalena Frech 7-5 6-2.