Carlos Alcaraz says pain is part of a tennis player’s life as he played down the significance of undergoing treatment during his semi-final match at the Rio Open.
The world No.2 required two medical time-outs in the second set during his clash against qualifier Nicolas Jarry for treatment on his left leg. Alcaraz was forced to miss last month’s Australian Open due to an issue with his right leg after he pulled a muscle during the off-season.
Despite the scare, Alcaraz fought back to defeat Jarry 6-7(2), 7-5, 6-0, and move into his 10th Tour final at the age of 19. In his latest match, the Spaniard won 69% of his service points and broke his opponent five times. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak which began last week at the Argentina Open.
“I don’t worry about that. It’s a tennis player’s life,” Alcaraz said of his leg issue. “Playing with some pain is normal for a tennis player. Even more if we are playing win by win, no break for almost 14 days in a row. It’s normal. I’m going to take care of that and go into the final 100 percent.”
Awaiting the reigning US Open champion in the Rio final will be second seed Cameron Norrie who defeated Barnabe Zapata Miralles 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(3), in his semi-final match. It is the second week in a row that the two will lock horns in a Tour final. Seven days ago in Buenos Aires, Alcaraz defeated the Brit 6-3, 7-5. The last time the same two players on the ATP Tour contested back-to-back Tour finals within the same number of weeks was in 2016 when Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray faced each other in Madrid and then Rome.
“I’m so proud of myself,” Alcaraz said. “To be in a final again in my second tournament is a really special moment for me… I couldn’t ask for a better start of 2023.”
Alcaraz is bidding to become the first player to defend a title at the Rio Open which was added to the ATP calendar in 2014. 12 months ago his triumph at the ATP 500 event made him the youngest player in history to win a title in this category. It was also in Rio where Alcaraz made his Tour debut in 2020 at the age of 16. On that occasion, he recorded his first Tour win by defeating Albert Ramos-Vinolas in three sets.
As for Norrie, the Brit will contest his third Tour final of 2023 after Auckland and Buenos Aires. He has won 17 out of 20 matches played so far this season which is more than any other player on the ATP Tour.
Alcaraz currently leads Norrie 4-1 in their head-to-head.
