Twelve months ago, Carlos Alcaraz defeated Cameron Norrie in the final of the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires so not surprisingly, the pair were nominated in the top two places for this year’s Buenos Aires draw.
Unfortunately, there will no repeat of last year’s final following the surprise defeat of the British No.1 to the local hero Federico Coria, the world No.106.
Norrie, currently ranked at 20, put up a fight after losing the first set when he conceded his serve twice, to level at a set-all.
In the decider he again fell behind but rallied to get back on serve only to be broken crucially in the eighth game allowing his Argentine opponent to serve out for a popular 6-2 4-6 6-3 victory after 2-hours and 20-minutes of tense play.
Cameron Norrie loses early in Argentina
(Photo by Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images)
Meanwhile at the top of the draw, Alcaraz delighted fans by defeating the Argentine qualifier, Camilo Ugo Carabelli in straight sets but was kept on court for one-hour and 45-minutes before securing his 6-2 7-5 victory.
Playing in his first match since losing in the quarter finals of the Australian Open, he showed some rusty moments as Caraballi pushed him had in the second set, but kept his cool to reach the second round of the ATP 250 level event at the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club, where he will meet another qualifier, the Italian Andrea Vavassori who beat Serbia’s Laslo Djere, the seventh seed, 6-4 7-5.
“It was a really tough match,” Alcaraz said post-match.
“He’s a really good fighter, a really good player, good rhythm. He was really tough to beat.
“I started really nervous, I’m not going to lie,”
Alcaraz looks a strong favourite to retain his title especially after Norrie suffered his defeat.
The full quarter final line up sees Nicolas Jarry (Chi) facing Tomas Martin Etcheverry (Arg), Laslo Lajovic (Srb) taking on Facundo Diaz Acosta (Arg) while Sebastain Baez (Arg) takes on his fellow countryman Coria at the bottom of the draw.
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