Gasquet upsets Norrie in Auckland as Kwon wins Adelaide crown
Cameron Norrie missed the chance to cap his New Zealand homecoming as he was beaten by Richard Gasquet in the ASB Classic final on Saturday.
Norrie grew up in Auckland and the British number one reached his first ATP Tour-level final in the city in 2019.
But despite repeating that feat and then winning the opening set of Saturday's final, Frenchman Gasquet roared back to prevail 4-6 6-4 6-4 and lift his first title on the ATP Tour since 2018.
After they split the opening two sets, Norrie looked to be on the way to victory when he held a 4-1 lead in the decider.
But 36-year-old Gasquet rattled off five straight sets, including two breaks of serve, to shock the second seed and become the oldest champion in the Auckland event's 66-year history.
"It's an amazing title for me, especially now at my age," Gasquet told a post-match news conference.
"I really didn't think I would win again.
"I'm 37 this year, so when I came here last week if you were to tell me next Saturday you will win here I wouldn't believe it."
Norrie gets his Australian Open campaign underway against wildcard Luca van Assche on Monday, while Gasquet will play fellow Frenchman Ugo Humbert in the first round.
At the Adelaide International 2, Kwon Son-woo defeated Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4 3-6 7-6 (7-4) to take the title.
Bautista Agut, who knocked out defending champion Thanasi Kokkinakis in the semi-finals, hit back from losing the opening set to level the game with a strong second stanza.
The deciding set went all the way to a tie-break as both players lost two of their service games but with Kwon 5-4 up in the pivotal tiebreaker, the world number 84 found two breaks of serve to complete the victory.
The win was Kwon's second ATP Tour title and first since lifting the Astana Open trophy in 2021, while he becomes the first South Korean to win multiple Tour-level titles.
