By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday February 25, 2023
Carlos Alcaraz and Cameron Norrie will meet in a final for the second consecutive week on Sunday in Rio.
Photo Source: Getty
Things haven’t always been easy for Carlos Alcaraz since the 19-year-old kicked off his 2023 season last week in Buenos Aires, but one theme has held true through the Spaniard’s first eight matches: he knows how to win.
On Saturday in Rio Alcaraz was pushed to the brink by Chile’s Nicolas Jarry but he found his way through tough moments in the middle set and took the contest over from 5-5 in the second set to win 6-7(2), 7-5, 6-0 and set a rematch of last week’s Buenos Aires final with Cameron Norrie.
Despite struggling with an issue in his left upper leg, Alcaraz caught a second win and blasted through the final eight games on the trot to improve to 8-0 on the season. He says the leg shouldn’t be an issue when he meets Norrie on Sunday with a chance to repeat as the champion at Rio.
"I don't worry about that. It's a tennis player's life," he said, according to ATPTour.com. "Playing with some pain is normal for a tennis player. Even more if we are playing win by win, no break for almost 14 days in a row. It's normal. I'm going to take care of that and go into the final 100 percent."
Alcaraz has now won eight of his last nine ATP semifinals and will bid for his 8th ATP title on Sunday.
Norrie, who defeated Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(3), has won 13 of his last 15 ATP semifinals. He dropped to 1-4 lifetime against Alcaraz last week in Buenos Aires, dropping a 6-3, 7-5 decision to the Spaniard.
Norrie is bidding for his 5th ATP title.