Carlos Alcaraz has capped off his fairytale return to tennis by producing an impressive display against Cameron Norrie to win the Argentina Open.
The 19-year-old Spaniard overcame some early resistance from Norrie, as well as a last-minute blip, to claim a 6-3, 7-5, victory. At one stage Alcaraz won six games in a row en route to winning his first title since the US Open and his seventh overall. Against Norrie, the Spaniard won 76% of his first service points and converted four out of six break point opportunities. It is the fourth time he has beaten the Brit in five meetings on the Tour.
Alcaraz’s triumph in Buenos Aires marks his return to the Tour after missing the past few weeks due to injury. Last November at the Paris Masters he was forced to retire from his quarter-final match due to an abdominal injury. Then during the off-season, he sustained a leg injury which ruled him out of the Australian Open.
“I felt really comfortable playing in this final. I knew that it was going to be very difficult but I stayed very focused on what I had to do at the beginning. This is the level that I have to play in the finals,” Alcaraz said afterwards during his on-court interview.
“I struggled for months. I didn’t do the right things off the court and I felt a little bit guilty after the injury. It was not easy. To come here to my first tournament in three months and the first tournament (I have won) after the US Open is a really special moment for me.”
Initially, there was little to distinguish between the two players during the first six games before Norrie faltered. An error-stricken service game from the world No.12 saw him produce three consecutive unforced errors to give Alcaraz two break points. Alcaraz converted his second with a deep shot towards the baseline that his opponent failed to return in. In the lead, the Spaniard went on to seal the opener with the help of a Norrie backhand crashing into the net on set point.
Carrying his momentum into the second frame, Alcaraz surged to a 3-0 lead and rallied to a game away from victory before he encountered a mishap. Serving for the win at 5-3, he fell behind 15-40 before hitting a double fault to allow a resilient Norrie to break back and eventually draw level. Despite the blip, Alcaraz held his nerve to seal a straight-sets victory. Doing so on his first championship point with a delicate drop shot.
“I want to congratulate Charlie (Alcaraz). It’s never easy coming back after an injury and it’s nice to see your face again on the Tour. We have missed you. Not so much on the court but we have missed seeing you around,” Norrie joked.
“Well done this week and congrats to your team as well. You deserved the title and you were better than me today.”
Alcaraz has once again rewritten the record books following his latest win by becoming the youngest champion in the history of the Argentina Open. The record was previously held by Casper Ruud who won the title last year at the age of 21.
Currently ranked No.2 in the world, Alcaraz is the joint-first highest-ranked player to win the tournament along with 2001 champion Gustavo Kuerten, as well as the first Spanish champion since Rafael Nadal in 2015.
