TENNIS
Defending champion Cameron Norrie cruises into Rio Open quarter-finals
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.
Start the clock, I’ll get it done @cam_norrie secures a win against Barrios Vera in just an hour, taking the win 6-1 6-1 @rioopenoficial | #RioOpen10Anos pic.twitter.com/LT0R5vPDFt— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 22, 2024
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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.
Quick-time Cam through to the quarters in Rio! @cam_norrie defeats Marcelo Tomas Barrios Vera 6-1, 6-1 in an hour to reach the last 8 #BackTheBrits pic.twitter.com/ZUvIpz6r2S— LTA (@the_LTA) February 22, 2024
“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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