Norrie Into Buenos Aires Final; Will Alcaraz Be Next? | ATP Tour

Cameron Norrie is finding his clay-court footing in Buenos Aires.

The second seed advanced to the Argentina Open final on Saturday with a 7-6(5), 6-4 victory against Peruvian Juan Pablo Varillas. Norrie will face World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz in the final if the Spaniard ousts countryman Bernabe Zapata Miralles.

“It’s going to be a tough one for sure regardless of who I play,” Norrie said. “I lost a tough final in Auckland, so hopefully I can get some good feelings back tomorrow in the final.”

Norrie needed three sets to battle through his first two matches of the week at the ATP 250. However, the lefty raised his level in the semi-finals against a gritty foe in Varillas, who reached a career-high No. 94 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in January.

The Peruvian rallied the crowd to his side and clawed back deficits throughout the match, saving two set points when serving at 4-5 in the opening set and another at 5-6. But Norrie, who has team members from Argentina, never let slip his focus. He saved two break points in the final game to triumph after one hour and 54 minutes. 

If Norrie faces Alcaraz in the final, he will be confident knowing he won the pair’s most recent ATP Head2Head clash at last year’s Western & Southern Open, but the Spaniard leads their series 3-1. Zapata Miralles is trying to reach his maiden ATP Tour final.