Carlos Alcaraz sends out strong message by winning Argentina Open

Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz confirmed he is getting back to his best as he beat Cameron Norrie in the final of the Argentina Open.

Second seed Norrie, a Wimbledon semi-finalist last year, had been seeking a fifth ATP Tour singles title at the clay-court event in Buenos Aires.

But Alcaraz, returning after being sidelined since November with abdominal and leg injuries, proved too strong, the 19-year-old US Open champion triumphing 6-3 7-5 in just over an hour-and-a-half.

The match went with serve up to 3-3 before world number two Alcaraz broke Norrie twice in succession to secure the opening set.

Norrie, 27, was also broken in his first service game of the second set en route to going 3-0 down, and although he subsequently broke back at 5-3 and drew things level, it was Alcaraz who then battled through and clinched the win with a further break.

The Spaniard said in quotes on atptour.com: “I felt very comfortable playing the final.

“I knew that it was going to be really difficult. I started really focussed on what I had to do at the beginning, my game, my level. This is the level that I have to play in finals.”

This was a big win for Alcaraz after he missed out on the first Grand Slam of 2023 at the Australian Open due to injury.

That absence meant he lost the world No 1 ranking to Novak Djokovic, but this victory in Argentina confirms he is edging back to his best ahead of the clay court season.

He will look to claim some more ranking points in the upcoming Indian Wells and Miami ATP 1000 tournaments that get underway next month.

Alcaraz looks set to head into those events among the favourites, with Djokovic set to be absent due to America’s ongoing demands for all overseas visitors to provide evidence of being vaccinated against Covid-19.

Djokovic has made his stance on that issue clear and he looks set to miss the first two Masters events of 2023, with Alcaraz confirming he is keen to push to regain the world No 1 ranking.

“It has been a long time (I spent) at No 1. Now it’s a goal for me to recover No 1 and try to do my best in these tournaments to be back on that number. I’m looking for that,” said 19-year-old.

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