Buenos Aires | Norrie and Alcaraz provide dream final

The top two seeds at the Argentina Open have come through the week’s draw to face each other in the final of the ATP 250 event held in the nation’s capital on he clay courts of the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club.

I lost a tough final in Auckland, so hopefully I can get some good feelings back tomorrow in the final. Cameron Norrie

Cameron Norrie, the British No.1 word ranked 12, will take on the top seeded Spaniard, Carlos Alcaraz, the current world number two in what promises to be a dream final for the 5000 locals who have packed the stadium from the outset.

Alcaraz, the 19-year-old former world number one and current US Open champion, is playing in his first tournament after a four month lay-off and shrugged off any rustiness in his opening match when he dropped a set, Since then his form has settled and he has dropped just ten games in two matches, including the 6-2 6-2 defeat of fellow countryman Bernabe Zapata Miralles achieved in just 76-minutes.

“It’s a really special moment for me,” Alcaraz said on reaching the final. “I was a little bit down after the injury, so I had to recover in those four months the confidence and the rhythm.

“Coming back for my first tournament of 2023 and making the final is so special for me.”

He will find in Norrie a tough opponent who is prepared to dig deep for his wins as he has had to prove over the past week having battled his way through two three setters to make the semis, and there needing one-hour and 53-minutes to dispatch the Peruvian qualifier Juan Pablo Varillas 7-6(5) 6-4 to fulfil his seeding expectations and advance to his 13th career title.

Norrie and Alcaraz have met four times before with the Brit scoring just one win over the teenager and doesn’t expect this encounter to be easy.

“It’s going to be a tough one for sure regardless of who I play,” Norrie said after his semi which was played before the Alcaraz – Zapata Miralles encounter. “I lost a tough final in Auckland, so hopefully I can get some good feelings back tomorrow in the final.”

And Alcarz acknowledges it won’t be easy.

“I played a couple of times against him. A really, really tough player,” Alcaraz said of Norrie. “I know that I have to give everything I have in the final. I’m going to say it’s going to be a really tough final, but at the same time a beautiful one.”