The Telegraph Two of the surprise packages of this clay-court season have been British – initially Dan Evans, who made a deep run in Monte Carlo, and more lately Cameron Norrie, who played his second final in three weeks on Sunday. Unfortunately, Norrie wasn’t able to land a maiden ATP title in Lyon. But then he was up against Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has been the dominant force of 2021 outside the slams, and now stands at No 1 in the table of most rankings points gained since January 1. Nevertheless, it had been a hugely creditable effort for Norrie to go this far, especially when you consider that he took out top seed Dominic Thiem on Thursday, and then trounced big-hitting Russian Karen Khachanov in Saturday’s semi-final, losing only two games in the process. Norrie has come to clay late in his career, but it feels like this is developing into his favourite surface. He has one of the heaviest left-handed forehands in the game, loaded with top-spin, and uses it like a miniature version of Rafael Nadal. The result has been a tally of 14 wins and only four losses since he began his European clay-court swing in Barcelona. So while the French Open, which starts next Sunday, has traditionally been a graveyard of British hopes, there are reasons to hope that this year’s event could deliver some more positive results. Norrie’s previous final in Estoril had been a nervewracking affair which he eventually lost on a deciding-set tie-break to the more experienced Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Sunday was more straightforward for Tsitsipas, who needed only 69 minutes to hammer home a 6-3, 6-3 victory. It was Tsitsipas’ second title of the clay-court sequence, after he won Monte Carlo in mid-April, taking out Evans in the semi-final along the way. He has become a serious contender to upset the establishment – specifically Nadal and Novak Djokovic – at Roland Garros over the next few weeks. “I felt in good shape from the beginning of the tournament,” said Tsitsipas afterwards. “I am proud of today’s match, I knew it would be a difficult one against Cameron, who has been showing great tennis this week. He has been winning against good players and showing what the left hand can do on clay. “It was not an easy match today. I had to handle the nerves and I am proud of my performance and the way I stayed focused towards my goal.” On this year’s results, meanwhile, both Evans and Norrie stand among the world’s 20 most successful men. Evans is at No 16 and Norrie No 14. The next challenge for them both is to convert that ATP Tour form into a deep run at a major.<doc-sep>Klay Thompson subscribes. You can too for just 11 cents a day for 11 months + receive a free Warriors Championship book. Sign me up! OAKLAND – Things appeared normal as Stephen Curry swished most of the shots he took. Well, except for one thing. During his shooting workout at the end of Thursday’s practice, Curry still had tape around his recently dislocated middle finger on his left hand. Though Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Curry practiced on Thursday without any restrictions, it appears significant that the Warriors do not play against the Houston Rockets until Saturday in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals. “It’s probably good we have a few days off,” Kerr said. “So hopefully the pain will continue to go down as we get closer to game time.” Curry dislocated his finger after blocking Houston center Clint Capela in the first quarter of the Warriors’ eventual Game 2 win. He went to the locker room with 8:31 left in the first quarter, both to receive x-rays that turned out negative and tape to wrap around his finger. Curry returned at the 5:12 mark, but the injury admittedly affected his play. Curry finished with 20 points while shooting 6-of-16 from the field and 3-of-13 from 3 while recording as many fouls as assists (five). “It’s not that fun,” said Klay Thompson, who has dealt with a handful of finger injuries during his eight-year NBA career. “But I know Steph. He’ll get it back. Dislocated finger, it sucks. But luckily, you can pop it right back in place and it’s not the end of the world. It’s not torn ligaments or anything. So he’ll toughen it out.” Curry admitted feeling pain afterwards, but he did not consider the ailment to be serious. He even joked that Dr. Rick Celebrini, the Warriors’ director of sports medicine and performance, told him to golf for the team’s off day on Wednesday. In reality, Curry received treatment on Wednesday and Thursday. Based off his own experience, though, Thompson said most players do not need to make many adjustments with their shooting or ball handling. “Once the adrenaline kicks in, you kind of are pain free after that,” Thompson said. “You just play through it.” WARRIORS HQ PODCAST: Be sure to visit our podcast page at mercurynews.com. You can also get notified of new episodes on iTunes, Google Play Music, Spotify, Stitcher and SoundCloud. * * * Follow Bay Area News Group Warriors beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.<doc-sep>
Bill Baptist/Getty Images For most, playing through injury means just getting by. For Stephen Curry, playing with a dislocated left middle finger means scoring a career-high 23 points in the fourth quarter of Friday night's Game 6 to close out the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference Semifinals. "It's a lot of experimenting," the Warriors All-Star point guard told the Mercury News' Mark Medina about his ailing finger. "A lot of it will hurt until I have time to rest. I'll continue to figure out how to make the ball feel comfortable in my hands." Curry experimented throughout a scoreless first half in Game 6 and ultimately found his groove with 33 second-half points. "There is no quick fix to what he's dealing with," Warriors assistant coach Bruce Fraser admitted to Medina. "We haven't figured out what's best." For Curry, though, Friday night set the table for what he deemed "the best 18 minutes of my career," per Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes. Video Play Button Videos you might like As for rest, there's none of that in sight for Curry and the Warriors. They will make their fifth consecutive Western Conference Finals appearance beginning Tuesday against either the Denver Nuggets or Portland Trail Blazers. Golden State is trying to win its third consecutive championship and will need not only Curry at his best but also Kevin Durant, who suffered a strained calf in Game 5 and will be re-evaluated next week. "If we want to get this three-peat, we desperately need [Durant] back," Klay Thompson told reporters after Game 6 (h/t ESPN). "He's our best player, so we dearly miss him, and we'll hold it down while he's out. But it's not the same without him. Far from it." Durant has been named the NBA Finals MVP the last two years, and before straining his calf, the 30-year-old was averaging 34.2 points per game this postseason. While having to navigate ailments in the playoffs is new territory for Durant, Curry dealt with a nagging right ankle injury throughout the Warriors' 2017-18 championship run. During the 2015-16 playoffs, he sprained his left knee and missed several games during both the first round and conference semifinals. Considering the Warriors lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Finals that year, Golden State will be hoping Curry's finger injury will not cause him to miss time this deep into the postseason.