(Rio de Janeiro) Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, seeded and world No. 2, qualified for his second consecutive final at the ATP 500 tournament in Rio de Janeiro by beating Chilean Nicolas Jarry (139e) in the semi-finals on Saturday.
The defending champion of the main tournament in South America won 6-7 (2/7), 7-5, 6-0, in 2 hours 42 minutes on the clay court Guga Kuerten.
Alcaraz, 19, will face Briton Cameron Norrie, world No. 13 and seeded No. 2, whom he beat a week ago in the Buenos Aires Open title match, in the final on Sunday.
Norrie overcame Spaniard Bernabe Zapata 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (7/3) earlier on Saturday after a tight game to reach the final.
PHOTO SERGIO MORAES, REUTERS
Cameron Norrie
The fifty places that separate Norrie, world No. 13, from Zapata, No. 63, seemed like dust, as the two players were tied for 2 hours 29 minutes.
Ideally launched after a largely dominated first set (6-2), Norrie folded when Zapata fought back, breaking (2-0) at the start of the second set before confirming his lead with a shutout on his serve, then to equalize (6-3, one set everywhere).
Norrie and Zapata then each had opportunities to take the lead in the deciding set, but were neutralized. The 27-year-old Briton, winner of four tournaments in his career, then used his experience to prove himself more solid in the tiebreaker.
It is finally by a double fault that Zapata, with a virgin record on the ATP circuit, had to admit defeat 7-6 (7/3).
With the Associated Press