Norrie captures Rio Open after three-set battle against Alcaraz

Cameron Norrie is the champion of the 2023 Rio Open after defeating Carlos Alcaraz.

The 27-year-old player avenged last week's final in Argentina and defeated Carlos Alcaraz to become the new champion of the Rio Open. With this result, Norrie achieved his first ATP 500 title, against a rival who clearly ended the match exhausted.

Norrie reached the final again as the second seed of the tournament, after a difficult semifinal match against Spaniard Bernabé Zapata Miralles that was decided in the third set tiebreak. On the other hand, Alcaraz had a match with the Chilean Nicolas Jarry that he fought until the end of the second set, but he ran out of energy in the last one to keep up with the former US Open champion.

In the first set, both players showed their weapons that led them to the final of the tournament, becoming strong in the service. A single break from Alcaraz was enough to take the first set when it seemed they would have to play the tie-break at 6-5. Norrie's nerves grew as the world No. 2 improved his rally accuracy, and he began the second set by losing three straight games, putting Alcaraz up 3-0.

Although all seemed lost for the Brit, he managed to put his nerves behind him and got two breaks in a row, putting him 4-3 up, thanks to several unforced errors from his opponent. Alcaraz quickly put pressure on Norrie and returned the break to level the match, but the former Indian Wells champion did not lose concentration and got another break to finally win the second set 6-4.

In the third set, both players were noticeably tired, as they had each played 9 matches in the last two weeks. Although both players lowered the level of their tennis, the ending was full of excitement, with Alcaraz hitting several winners in a clear attempt to play short points. With breaks on both sides, it was tied at 5-5 and in a fiercely contested game, Norrie won the break that would ultimately give him the set 5-7, 6-4, 7-5.

This is Norrie's fifth title in his career (second on clay) and will take him to number 12th in the ATP ranking.