Defending champion Cameron Norrie cruises into Rio Open quarter-finals

By Sports Desk February 22, 2024

Cameron Norrie remains on course to defend his Rio Open title after easing into the quarter-finals.

The British number one won last year’s tournament in Brazil and his path to repeating his glory opened up earlier in the week when top seed Carlos Alcaraz withdrew because of injury.

And he made light work of Chilean Tomas Barrios Vera on the clay, dropping just two games in a 6-1 6-1 victory.

Barrios Vera, ranked 120 in the world, was no match for the Norrie, who overcame an early exchange of breaks to reel off four successive games and win the first set.

Another run of four games on the spin was enough to get the job done with little fuss to set up a quarter-final meeting with Thiago Seyboth Wild.

“I really played well and was accurate, I hit the lines and was able to control the games,” Norrie said on Sky Sports.

“I enjoyed it, last night waiting around, it rained a lot and I had to come out and reset and I was able to do that so I was really pleased.

“I am going to keep focusing on myself and my level and I want to make sure I take care of my matches like that.

“It’s tough, it’s humid, there’s been a lot of rain and the clay is heavy. It’s not easy out here but I feel like I can play well when the matches go long.”

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    Italy beat the Netherlands in the final, with Matteo Berrettini and Sinner both winning their singles matches in straight sets to clinch the title.

    They are the first team to retain the Davis Cup since the Czech Republic in 2012 and 2013, and, after also winning the Billie Jean King Cup last week, they are only the third nation to claim both trophies in the same season in the last 30 years.

    Sinner, on the back of an incredible season that saw him win the Australian Open, US Open and ATP Finals, became just the second player in the Open Era to finish a calendar year by winning at least one set in every match throughout a season since Roger Federer in 2005.

    "We are very happy to be back here holding this trophy. It feels like we are in Italy," Sinner said.

    "You have a different pressure and a different weight of having Italy on your shoulders - I think we handled it really well.

    "If it was not important, I would not be here. For me, it means so much to me."

    However, Sinner's year has been disrupted by an ongoing doping controversy, which has cast doubt on his immediate future in the sport.

    "Of course, it's [the doping case] in the head a little bit," Sinner said.

    "The most important part is all the people who know me as a human being trust me - that's why I kept playing the level I have.

    "I was emotionally a bit down, a bit heartbroken. Sometimes life gives you difficulties, and you just have to [deal with] it."

    Berrettini missed last year's Davis Cup through injury, but still went to Malaga to support his team as they won the title.

    "I would tell him 'don't give up'," Berrettini said of his former self from 12 months ago. "Last year was really nice to be here, but at the same time, I remember a moment, like, why did I come?

    "But after the whole week, I said it was really important for you to come, because I support them, but also for me. I took so much energy from those matches.

    "I once again realised how much I care about the Davis Cup. And living those moments, I took all this energy, and I was like next year, you're going to be here, you're going to be fighting for Italy.

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    World number one Sinner overcame Griekspoor 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 after Matteo Berrettini had registered a 6-4 6-2 win over Botic van de Zandschulp in the opener.

    Sinner saved the only two break points of the first set as Griekspoor put up a fight, but the Italian put on a show in the tie-break to inch ahead.

    Griekspoor hit back after giving up an early break in the second set, but Sinner immediately responded with two further breaks, with the Dutchman double-faulting for the first then wildly miscuing with a backhand for the second.

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    The Italian has only dropped one set throughout that streak, finishing a year that saw him win the Australian Open, US Open and ATP Finals with a 73-6 singles record.

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    Italy also captured the Billie Jean King Cup earlier this week, and they are just the third nation to claim both trophies in the same season in the last 30 years, after the Czech Republic in 2012 and Russia in 2021.

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    Former Wimbledon finalist Berrettini got the ball rolling with an entertaining 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 7-5 victory over Thanasi Kokkinakis, not surrendering a break after losing the opener in a tie-break. 

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    Italy's men are looking to follow in the footsteps of their female counterparts, who won the Billie Jean King Cup earlier this week.

    They are just the third nation in history to make back-to-back finals at both the Davis Cup and the Federation/Billie Jean King Cup, after the United States (1963-64, 1978-79, 1981-82 and 1990-91) and Australia (1963-64 and 1964-65).

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