Carlos Alcaraz took just over an hour and a half to defeat Britain's Cameron Norrie 6-3 7-5 to win the Argentina Open; it is Alcaraz's first title of 2023 after four months out with abdominal and leg injuries
Monday 20 February 2023 10:32, UK
Britain's Cameron Norrie lost in straight sets to top seed Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the Argentina Open.
Second seed Norrie, a Wimbledon semi-finalist last year, had been seeking a fifth ATP Tour singles title at the clay-court event in Buenos Aires.
But Alcaraz, returning after being sidelined since November with abdominal and leg injuries, proved too strong, the 19-year-old US Open champion triumphing 6-3 7-5 in just over 90 minutes to become the youngest Argentina Open champion.
The match went with serve up to 3-3 before world No 2 Alcaraz broke Norrie twice in succession to secure the opening set.
Norrie, 27, was also broken in his first service game of the second set en route to going 3-0 down, and although he subsequently broke back at 5-3 and drew things level, it was Alcaraz who then battled through and clinched the win with a further break.
"I felt very comfortable playing the final," said Alcaraz, who moved to within 590 points of Novak Djokovic in the rankings.
"I knew that it was going to be really difficult. I started really focused on what I had to do at the beginning, my game, my level.
"This is the level that I have to play in a final. It is really special, I struggled in these four months."
Alcaraz dropped only one set to Serbia's Laslo Djere in his first tournament of the year.
Daniil Medvedev hopes his run to the title at Rotterdam and a return to the top 10 in the world rankings can be the perfect launchpad for the rest of the season after a disappointing Australian Open last month.
Medvedev had slipped to No 12 following his third-round defeat by Sebastian Korda at Melbourne Park, but the 27-year-old Russian rediscovered his rhythm at Rotterdam last week and beat Jannik Sinner 5-7 6-2 6-2 for his first title of 2023.
"It's great, because it's still the beginning of the year," Medvedev, who is now ranked eighth in the world, said. "It's my third tournament of the year and already a title. Last year I probably needed 12 tournaments or something like this. Beating great players, playing great here.
"In Adelaide I was playing great but lost to Novak Djokovic. The Australian Open was really disappointing, mentally, it's tough to come back after you go out of the top 10 and lose in the third round of a Grand Slam you were hoping to win.
"I'm happy to find my form and I'm looking forward to the next tournament and hopefully I can continue this way."
American Taylor Fritz defeated Miomir Kecmanovic 6-0 5-7 6-2 to win the Delray Beach Open title.
