Carlos Alcaraz vs Cameron Norrie Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Rio Open

Prediction published on 26/02/2023, 06:32  by Kennedy Kechula in Tennis Predictions

Top seed Carlos Alcaraz and second seed Cameron Norrie will contest the final of the Rio Open on Sunday on an outdoor clay court. The two players contested the final of the Argentina Open one week ago and Alcaraz came out on top winning 6-3, 7-5. That win extended Alcaraz’s head-to-head record against Norrie to 4-1. The world number two is the defending champion in Rio and is the favourite to again win the title and become the first player to win multiple titles at the tournament. Alcaraz has breezed past his opponents since making his season debut in Buenos Aires and has won all eight of his matches dropping just three sets along the way. Two of those sets have however come in Rio against Fabio Fognini and Nicolas Jarry in the second and fourth rounds respectively. By winning his eighth ATP tour title in 10 attempts, Alcaraz will go one step further towards reclaiming the world number one crown as he will tie current holder Novak Djokovic on points but won’t leapfrog the Serb as he is still behind on points won at major tournaments.

So much can change in a week and Cameron Norrie will hope that the change is evident for him as he seeks revenge against Alcaraz. The Brit has also breezed past his opponents in Rio dropping just two sets on his way to the final. After winning his first two matches by straight sets, Norrie was forced to a deciding set in his last two matches against Hugo Dellien and Bernabe Zapata. Norrie is having an amazing season so far with just three losses suffered in his 20 matches. The downside is that two of those losses have come in the final in Auckland and in Buenos Aires. Will it be three finals losses in a row on Sunday? His poor record against Alacaraz as well as in ATP tour-level finals suggests so. A win here can send him up to 12th in the live ranking.