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
Carlos Alcaraz at the 2023 ATP Rio Open
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)).
