On Saturday, Nicolas Jarry of Chile defeated No. 2-ranked Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (2), 6-3 in the semifinals of the Argentina Open. Jarry, coming off his biggest win of his career, will meet home crowd favourite Facundo Diaz Acosta in the final on Sunday. This will be their first tour-level encounter.
Alcaraz was the defending champion, but he hasn’t appeared as sharp or aggressive this week as he did a year ago.
The 20-year-old smashed his racket onto the court after losing, an unusual occurrence for the Spaniard. “Congratulations to Nico for this match and good luck for him in the final,” Alcaraz said after his defeat. The Spaniard will play next week at the Rio Open tournament in Brazil, also on clay, which he won in 2022 and reached the decider last year. Also read: Ambassador Responds To Saudi Arabia Opposition By Evert, Navratilova
While Alcaraz hasn’t participated in a final since August and hasn’t won a trophy since Wimbledon, this was only his fourth clay-court loss in 31 matches since the beginning of 2023. This was also his third loss in 49 matches against players below the top 20 during the same time frame.
“Carlos is one of the best, this means a lot to me,” Jarry said after the match. “After the battle I had a couple of days ago, a tough one physically, I am extremely happy I managed to compete again.” Also read: Andy Murray Vows ‘I won’t quit’ After Winless Start To 2024