Cameron Norrie came to Mexico needing rhythm more than revelation, and for most of the week he found enough of it to remember himself. Then Denis Shapovalov, loose shoulders and cold resolve, shut the door in the semi-final.

The British number two arrived on a run of six straight defeats, a tailspin by his standards. In Los Cabos he stitched together something sturdier, the kind of point-by-point stubbornness that once made this his happiest stop. He even hauled this one the long way, dropping the first set, grabbing the second, and forcing Shapovalov to solve the match rather than inherit it.

The ledger read 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, a line that said neither man was giving much away. Norrie was broken early and spent the opener chasing lines, then steadied his feet and his forehand to flip the second. He carved out two set points and closed with a forehand volley that kissed the line. That is the version of Norrie that wins by persistence, redirecting pace and asking the same hard question again and again.

Shapovalov kept answering on serve. In the decider he banked an early break and guarded it with care, the margins tight, the heartbeat even. The serve was the difference, not spectacular as much as relentless, the first strike landing just enough to keep the rallies tilted his way.

"Great serving from me today and I knew I needed it against a guy like Cam, he does not give you many free points," said Shapovalov.

There is a particular cruelty to this kind of loss for a counterpuncher. You land the counter, you make the opponent play, and the night still swings on a handful of first strikes you do not quite blunt. For Norrie, who won this title in 2021, the week still matters, proof that form can be rebuilt one stubborn rally at a time.

For Shapovalov, it feels like recalibration, alive to the little details that decide big points. His title chase goes on, sharpened by a win that asked him to be precise, patient, and just a touch colder than the man across the net.