REVENGE FOR NORRIE AGAINST ALCARAZ AT RIO OPEN

By MAURICIO SAVARESE AP Sports Writer

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Cameron Norrie waited a week for his revenge against top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz, rallying from a set and 3-0 down to beat the Spanish teenager in the Rio Open final yesterday for his first title of the year.

Second-seeded Norrie won 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 to win the fifth title of his career after defeats in the final to Richard Gasquet in Auckland in January and to Alcaraz in the Argentina Open championship match last weekend.

Alcaraz’s failure to retain his title at the claycourt tournament in Rio de Janeiro also stopped him from tying with Novak Djokovic in points at the top of the rankings. Djokovic would still have been No. 1 due to other results.

The competition will take place in Guatemala City, Guatemala. The BLTA wishes both teams all the best as they play tennis on this international stage proudly representing the nation. There are 12 nations competing in the Jr BJK Cup and 17 nations in the Jr Davis Cup. This is a wonderful opportunity for our young players to compete at a high level. It is a great experience that will further develop them. The Bahamas Jr BJK Cup team will be playing in Group B against Guatemala and St Lucia.The Bahamas Boys are in a pool with Nicaragua, Barbados and Jamaica.

Alcaraz and Norrie went head to head in a tightly fought first set, which was eventually decided by Alcaraz’s drop shots breaking Norrie’s serve. Alcaraz showed more confidence with his powerful forehand shots at the start of the second set, and opened a 3-0 advantage against Norrie. But the British player recovered in the middle of the set as Alcaraz felt pains in his right leg, which hindered his movement and serve.

Norrie led most of the deciding set but had to work hard against a recovering Alcaraz. Norrie’s strong returns helped him to prevail in 2 hours, 42 minutes, clinching the title with an ace.

Norrie dropped to his knees and roared to celebrate in front of a crowd that was mostly supporting Alcaraz.

No 1 Swiatek Upset By Krejcikova In Dubai Final

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) —

Topranked Iga Swiatek was upset by Barbora Krejcikova 6-4, 6-2 in the final of the Dubai Championships on Saturday. Krejcikova closed the tournament by beating the top three players in the WTA rankings: No. 3 Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals, No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals, then Swiatek. No. 8 Daria Kasaktina was also overcome in the second round.

The Czech is the fifth woman in the Open era to beat the world’s top three at the same event.

“It’s a big achievement and I think it’s going to give me a lot of confidence that I can play with the best ones,” Krejcikova said.

The former French Open champion dominated the final, breaking Swiatek five times.