By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday February 19, 2023
Carlos Alcaraz powered past Cameron Norrie to complete a title run in his first event of 2023.
Photo Source: TTV
Carlos Alcaraz is well and truly up and running in 2023.
The 19-year-old Spaniard completed his title run in Buenos Aires on Sunday, edging past Cameron Norrie 6-3, 7-5 to become the youngest champion in Argentina Open history and to send a message to the rest of the field that he is dead set on picking up where he left off in 2022.
The top seed played a brilliant final, even if he did lose the plot momentarily while making his first attempt to serve for the title late in the second set. Alcaraz ended up getting broken on a double-fault while serving at 5-3, which allowed the British No.1 to get back into the match for a spell, but Alcaraz quickly recovered and notched another break in the 12th game of the set to lock up the title.
Did Alcaraz play his best tennis on Sunday?
“Yeah, probably,” Alcaraz said, adding: “I felt very comfortable playing this final. I knew it was going to be really difficult. But I started really focused on what I had to do at the beginning with my game and my level – this is the level that I have to play in the finals.”
Alcaraz claims his seventh career title – and fifth on clay – and talked of its importance on court immediately after championship point.
“As I mentioned before, I struggled for four months,” he said, referring to time missed due to an abdominal injury at the end of 2022 and a hamstring injury that forced him to miss the Australian Open. “I didn't do the right things off the court and I felt a little bit guilty after the injuries and it was not easy. To come here to my first tournament after four months, and to win my first title since the US Open is a really special moment for me.”
Alcaraz becomes the first teenager to ever raise the trophy in Buenos Aires. He improves to 43-11 on clay – the Spaniard is 30-4 on clay with four titles since the start of 2022.
Norrie drops to 4-9 lifetime in finals and 1-4 against Alcaraz.