Carlos Alcaraz battled hard on Sunday in the Rio Open presented by Claro final to claim his second title in as any weeks. But after a two-hour, 42-minute clash full of momentum changes, Cameron Norrie triumphed 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 to earn the trophy.
“It [was] a really tough final. I had my chances to win the final, had a break up in the second set and 0/30 to [earn] a second break,” Alcaraz said. “I couldn’t do it and I said before, when you have chances and you don’t make it, it’s really tough to come back against this kind of player. It’s really tough.
“At the end unfortunately I couldn’t [find] my best level physically and it’s really tough to come back in these kind of tournaments against this kind of player. But I would say it has been a good final given that.”
In the middle of the second set, Alcaraz began visibly struggling with a right leg injury. The 19-year-old dialled up his aggression to shorten points, but ultimately fell short of extending his winning streak to nine.
“Even with the injury and the pain, after all the match I could say I’m happy with my performance this whole week and the level that I played in these matches,” Alcaraz said. “But of course playing against Norrie is always tough and it’s great to see him win a title.”
The pair also met last week in the championship match of the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires, where Alcaraz triumphed. It was the Spaniard’s first tournament of the season after missing more than three months due to injury. He is now 8-1 on the season.
Alcaraz explained that he will evaluate his condition with his doctor and physiotherapist. He is scheduled to compete next week in Acapulco at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC.
“I really like Acapulco,” Alcaraz said. “I really want to go there and play in front of the Mexican fans.”
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