MADRID, 20 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz lost in three sets (7-6(4), 6-7(4) and 6-4) against Cameron Norrie in the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati tournament (United States), seventh ATP Masters 1,000 in the season, a battle that exceeded 3 hours and that the number four in the world ranking ended up succumbing to the experience of the British.
Alcaraz this time could not overcome a Norrie surrendered to Murcia in his three games played to date. An undefeated streak against his rival that ended this Saturday in the fourth confrontation between the two, where the 26-year-old Briton, and number 11 in the world, got even after losing to the pupil of Juan Carlos Ferrero in the Masters 1,000 in Madrid and Indian Wells, and at the 2021 US Open.
The Spaniard started with determination. Thus, he kept his serve to love and got four break balls in Norrie’s first two at-bats, despite not taking advantage of them. A strength that was diluted with the passing of the points and that did not allow him to win the first set (7-6(4)).
Norrie’s consistency put the Murcian in trouble and his left-footed serve took effect to put him ahead of the scoreboard. In this way, Alcaraz, with no margin for error, resurfaced in the second set with the unconditional support of an audience delivered to the delight of the young player, in the spectacular nature of his points.
Once again, the ‘tie-break’ decided a second set, which Alcaraz took between suffering to leave everything to be decided in the third and final set. But Norrie escaped from the compromising situation and left his rival between the ropes.
But the feeling was that the duel was still in control of his rival, more settled and calm due to the advantage on the scoreboard, and that he did not miss the return of the Murcian’s errors to break again and take an advantage that he could not wipe away either. from El Palmar.
Alcaraz did not give up and despite coming back from 0-40 with 4-4 on the scoreboard, he ended up being overtaken by the Briton, who was superior in his service to sentence the duel 6-4. In this way, Norrie got the pass to the semifinals after a tough battle of 183 minutes of play and will face the Croatian Borna Coric, while the Russian Danill Medvedev, number 1 in the world, and the Greek Stefano Tsitsipas will also fight for the pass at the end.
For his part, the tennis player from El Palmar, a finalist in Hamburg and Umag, and later dispatched in his premiere in Montreal, will return to the court in ten days at the US Open. A new opportunity for the Murcian to leave behind the setbacks suffered in the last stretch of the season after reaping his fourth defeat of the season in the Masters 1,000.