Norrie escapes from Alcaraz in Rio final
Cameron Norrie avenged last week's Argentina Open final defeat to Carlos Alcaraz by fighting back to beat the injury-hit Spaniard in a back-and-forth Rio Open final.
Defending champion Alcaraz was hampered by an injury to his right leg as he was pegged back after taking the opener, with Norrie eventually claiming a 5-7 6-4 7-5 win.
Alcaraz performed admirably despite seeing his movement limited in a nail-biting decider but Norrie's power ultimately proved too much as the 27-year-old took his fifth ATP career title.
Top seed Alcaraz – playing in his 10th tour-level final at the age of 19 – started well and had forced seven break points by the time he took a thrilling first set, allowing Norrie just one.
With Alcaraz stopping to have his right thigh wrapped after appearing to be in discomfort, Norrie roared back and took the second set after three straight breaks of serve.
That teed up a dramatic finish with Alcaraz playing a series of delightful drop shots to take the first break of the decider, despite playing at walking pace for long periods.
Alcaraz stopped to tear the wrapping off his leg as the pair traded breaks in front of a lively crowd in Brazil.
It it proved a bridge too far for the Spaniard as Norrie pinned him back, hitting several excellent returns to claim his first final success against a top-10 ranked opponent.
"It's so special to win this one, especially after losing a couple of finals already this year," Norrie told Amazon Prime Video.
"I had to do it the tough way, you know?
"I was looking done there and I just managed to flip a switch and turn it around.
"It's a good day, especially on a surface I'm not too comfortable with.
"I had to battle a lot of demons in the last couple of weeks."
