Cameron Norrie wins Indian Wells 2021 title with victory over Nikoloz Basilashvili.

Cameron Norrie became the first Briton to win the Indian Wells title when he fought back from a set and a break down to beat Nikoloz Basilashvili.

Norrie, 26, won 3-6 6-4 6-1 against the Georgian to seal one of the biggest titles in tennis.

Norrie will rise to a career-high 16th in the world, having started the year ranked 74th, after a stunning season where he has reached six finals and won 47 matches.

Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams were among those skipping the tournament that was delayed 2 1/2 years because of the coronavirus.

The two-week event was hit with a rash of upsets, including top seeds Daniil Medvedev and Karolina Pliskova.

Norrie, ranked 26th, had the only two breaks of the final set and won when Basilashvili’s backhand sailed long on match point. Basilashvili, ranked 36th, was the first player from the former Soviet republic of Georgia to reach an ATP Masters 1000 final.

Norrie, Ivan Ljubicic in 2019, Alex Corretja in 2000 and Jim Courier in 1991 — all were ranked 26th — won the title while ranked outside the Top 25 since the tournament moved to Indian Wells in 1987. Larry Stefanki was ranked 143rd when he won in 1985 at nearby La Quinta.

Indian Wells 2021: Paula Badosa beats Victoria Azarenka in entertaining final.

Spain's Paula Badosa beat Victoria Azarenka in a lengthy and entertaining final to win the prestigious Indian Wells title on her tournament debut.

Azarenka produced an impressive second set but Badosa eventually came out on top to win 7-6 (7-5) 2-6 7-6 (7-2) in three hours and four minutes.

It is the 23-year-old's second WTA tour title after May's Belgrade victory.

She Just becomes just the third woman to win in her Indian Wells debut.

Badosa joined Bianca Andreescu in 2019 and Serena Williams in 1999 in winning the title in her first appearance. It was Badosa’s second title of her career, having won in Belgrade earlier this year.

Badosa came into the tournament ranked 27th in the world; a year ago, she was 87th. Badosa is projected to rise to a career-best 13th in Monday’s WTA Tour rankings.

That cleared the way for the up-and-coming Norrie and Badosa to claim the biggest titles of their young careers. They earned $1.2 million each.

Courtesy to BBC Sports & APNews Sports.