Cameron Norrie got her revenge and beat Carlos Alcaraz in Rio de Janeiro

A big victory was scored Cameron Norie at the end of ATP 500 Rio de Janeiro. The British, seeded second, turned around a game that seemed lost – he was down 5-7 and 0-3 – and beat the Spaniard 5-7, 6-4 and 7-5 Carlos Alcaraz, the absolute favorite. It took Argentinean student Facundo Lugones two hours and 41 minutes to beat the world number two (very limited by pain in his right leg) and add his first title of the season and the fifth of his career.

Norrie’s triumph also prevented an unprecedented situation. Is that if Alcaraz had won the trophy, the world ranking would have had its top two players this Monday with the same number of points, because the Murciano would have equaled the line of Novak Djokovic, with 6,980. And for the first time in history, the number one would be defined by a tiebreaker, which would have favored the Serbian to have more points in the Grand Slams, the eight mandatory Masters 1000 and the ATP Finals (5,820 against 5,090 for the Spaniard).

But with the defeat in yesterday’s final, Carlitos remained at 6,780 units, 200 points behind Nole.

Norrie, meanwhile, moved up one spot and dropped back to 12th. But beyond that small leap in the standings, you left with the satisfaction of finally having conquered your first crown in 2023 and the first in this category of tournaments.

“This title is very special to me. I had already lost some finals this year. And in this one I was down sets and breaks. The victory could have gone to either of us. Luckily, I was able to click and take it ahead “said the new champion.

The British had reached the deciding instance in January at Auckland, where it fell to the French Richard Gasquetand last week, in Open Argentinawhen he just lost to Alcaraz.

In Rio he took his revenge. Even if he had to work to get it. Is that after taking a very even first set and fighting with a break in the 12th game, after 58 minutes of play; the Spaniard extended his great moment at the start of the second, in which he started unstoppable. They added a break in the second game and then went ahead 3-0.

But just when it looked like she had the game on its way, Norrie snapped. With nothing to lose, he recovered his serve, then tied the score at 3-3 and rejoined the match.

Then there were three games in a row where no one could hold serve. The first to break through is Norrie, for 4-3; then came the break from Alcaraz, who made it 4-4; and finally another of the English, for being 5-4 and taking possession after the set, with a service game that they won to nil.

The Murciano didn’t lose his concentration and had a good start in the final set. He had a break in the second game and took the lead 2-0, but he could not confirm it, played a weak serve and, with a double fault, gave the break to Norrie, who then scored the 2 -2.

Both looked tired, but the Spaniard was showing signs of discomfort in his right leg. After the third game of the final set, same thing, he took off a big bandage that he had on that area.

The Briton took advantage of his rival’s negative momentum and stole his serve again. Even if the Murciano did not allow him to enjoy the advantage, because with two impressive comebacks, he recovered the break and took the next game without losing any points, making it 4-3.

But Carlitos wasn’t Carlitos at that point in the game. Physically limited, he didn’t have the same extraordinary mobility as always. Sometimes he showed something of that tennis that makes him different and was still mentally fresh – he reacted well when he was tight on the board and gave some drops and some right lash that lifted the crowd-; however, he has lost too much. And Norrie — who wasn’t even surprised by his opponent’s underserve in the ninth game — jumped at the opportunity.

The Briton broke once again in a lengthy 11th game and, on his second match point, sealed the win.

“I had to fight a lot, but I was able to keep my head on the game and play well in the important moments,” said Norrie, who beat the number two for the second time this year (he had beaten Rafael Nadal In the united cup, when the Majorcans occupied that place). “This title gives me a lot of confidence for what’s to come,” she concluded.