Rio Open: Alcaraz remains unbeaten in 2023 with eighth consecutive win; meets Norrie in final
The Spaniard beat Nicolas Jarry 6-7 (2), 7-5, 6-0 in the semi-finals on Saturday
Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, the top seed and world No 2, survived an onslaught from Chilean qualifier Nicolas Jarry for the first half of their semi-final at the Rio Open on Saturday before coming through to win in three sets.
The 19-year-old defending champion won the final eight games of the match to win 6-7 (2), 7-5, 6-0 in two hours and 42 minutes to set up a final against second seed Cameron Norrie on Sunday. The Brit scored a 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (3) win over Spain’s Bernabe Zapata Miralles in the second semi-final.
With the win, Alcaraz maintained his perfect start to 2023, improving to 8-0, which included a win over Norre in the final in Buenos Aires last week. The Spaniard leads the Brit 4-1 in career head-to-head, including a 2-0 edge on outdoor clay.
The 19-year-old Alcaraz had scored wins over 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) ahead of Saturday’s win.
Jarry, ranked No 139, had come through the qualifying draw and then defeated 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)).