Top seed Carlos Alcaraz of Spain beat Nicolas Jarry of Chile 6-7 7-5 6-0 in a semifinal of the Rio Open on Saturday. The match turned a bit anti-climactic in the final set after the first two sets had produced intense tennis.
Carlos Alcaraz will face Cameron Norrie of Great Britain on Sunday in what will their second summit clash in two weeks. We will now take a look at how the match progressed:
How Carlos Alcaraz beat Nicolas Jarry in Rio
Jarry showed good net-skills and played his forehand well to win the first set:
Jarry played his forehand really well in the first set. The Chilean typically served to Alcaraz’s backhand on the ad court and then finished points with inside-in forehand. Moreover, Jarry’s crosscourt forehand also caused a lot of problem to the Spaniard.
The Chilean also demonstrated good net-skills and won quite a few points with his forehand volleys in the match.
Jarry led 5-2 at one point in the first set, but Alcaraz then broke him to love in the ninth game and then held his serve to draw level. The Chilean then win the tie-break to draw the first blood.
Jarry won 89% of the points in his first serve in the set, while Alcaraz managed only 64%. The Chilean also hit 10 forehand winners in the set to keep the Spaniard under pressure.
Carlos Alcaraz’s iron resolve won the match for him yet again:
Jarry won the first three games of the second set and it seemed at that point that he would walk away with the match. However, Alcaraz once again showed his mettle by breaking the Chilean multiple times and displayed an array of wonderful strokes including a running down-the-line forehand pass, return winners and sumptuous drop shots.
Jarry’s resolve was broken bye the start of the third set and the 19-year-old Spaniard served a bagel to him. Alcaraz’s superb fitness and monumental strength of mind meant that he was never going to give up easily and it was a bit too much for the Chilean to handle.
Main Photo Credit Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
