Cameron Norrie and Carlos Alcaraz to meet in Rio Open final

• Cameron Norrie survived a scare to beat Spain’s Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-2 3-6 7-6(3) and reach Rio Open final
• He will face Carlos Alcaraz, who beat Nicolas Jarry 6-7 (2), 7-5, 6-0 in another semi-final played on Saturday

British number one Cameron Norrie survived a scare to beat Spain’s Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-2 3-6 7-6(3), advancing to the Rio Open final.

Cameron Norrie will face Carlos Alcaraz, who beat Nicolas Jarry 6-7 (2), 7-5, 6-0 in another semi-final played on Saturday. The two will meet on Sunday, a week after Carlos Alcaraz defeated Norrie to win the Argentina Open.

Carlos Alcaraz defeated Cameron Norrie in their last meeting in Buenos Aires. Photo/ FirstSportz.

On the way to Rio Open semis on Saturday, world number 2 Carlos Alcaraz had defeated Brazilian wildcard Mateus De Carvalho Cardoso Alves (6-4, 6-4), Italian Fabio Fognini (6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4) and Serb Dusan Lajovic (6-4, 7-6.

His opponent in the semis, Nicolas Jarry, had come through the qualifying draw before defeating Italian Lorenzo Musetti, the No 3 seed (6-4, 6-1), Spaniard Pedro Martinez (6-2, 6-2) and Argentinian Sebastian Baez, the No 6 seed (6-3, 7-6 (3)).

Carlos Alcaraz Defeats Nicolas Jarry 

Carlos Alcaraz worked hard against Nicolas Jarry, who was also determined to reach the Rio Open final when they met on Saturday night. The Spaniard created six break chances and converted five to dominate crucial points in the match.

It was Jarry who got off to a reliable start by producing four comfortable service games and delivering an early break. He kept everything under control as he took a 5-2 lead. Carlos had before wasted a game point in the second game and was broken after making a forced error.

The Spaniard was not letting it go and he reduced the deficit to 5-3 following a drop shot winner. Jarry was feeling the pressure after Carlos’ backhand crosscourt winner. However, he ended up winning the set to earn a massive boost against the world number 2.

Carlos had to improve at the beginning of the second set, and that’s exactly what he did. He denied four break points and had no problems at all. Jarry, however, fought back to put the score at 5-5.

Carlos held at love in Game 11 and showed an impressive performance to force a deciding set. With the momentum he had, the world number 2 advanced to Rio Open final after winning the third set.

Cameron Norrie Survives A Scare 

Meanwhile, Cameron Norrie had already booked a slot in the final after defeating Spain’s Bernabe Zapata Miralles. Zapata had defeated fellow Spain international Jaume Munar, Albert Ramos and Francisco Cerundolo before reaching the semis.

Cameron Norrie. Photo/ Tennis Majors.

On the other hand, Cameron Norrie, had secured victories over Bolivian Hugo Dellien, Brazilian Thiago Monteiro and Juan Cerundolo.

Cameroon Norrie split the opening games of his semi-final clash with Zapata Miralles, with each holding serve. The Brit number one would take a 3-1 lead before going up 5-1 with just 25 minutes in the court. In under 40 minutes, he had already won the set.

However, things were not easy as they looked like. Zapata won the second set and was forcing a win in the decider when his resistance was broken by Cameron Norrie.