Norrie turns tables on Alcaraz with Rio title UCLA women beat Arizona in Tucson
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 on Sunday in Rio de Janeiro 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 clay-court 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.
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. 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. The Spaniard later said the problem was a recurrence of the injury that sidelined him for almost four months until earlier in February.
“I didn't see (Alcaraz was injured). I broke him to make 4-3 in the second set, then he called the trainer. But he didn't take any injury time out at all in the match,” Norrie said when asked whether he had sought to exploit the Spaniard's physical difficulties. “It is special when you do it against a top player like Alcaraz. It took a lot of heart.”
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, 41 minutes, clinching the match with an ace. No. 5 UCLA posted its second consecutive 197.9 score, downing host No. 27 Arizona 197.900-195.325.
Sophomore Jordan Chiles recorded a career-high 39.850 in the all-around, earning two 9.975s on vault and bars and two 9.950s on beam and floor to win all four events.
Chiles' 39.850 all-around score is the fourth-highest in school history and the highest all-around total since Kyla Ross also scored 39.850 against Arizona on Feb. 17, 2019.
The Bruins opened the meet with a 49.325 on uneven bars. Ana Padurariu hit for a career-high-tying 9.900. Chiles hit her fourth 9.975 of the season.
UCLA tied its season high on vault with a score of 49.400. Emily Lee led off with a career-high 9.875. Campbell tied her season best with a 9.925 on a stuck Yurchenko full, and Chiles earned a career-high 9.975 on her Yurchenko double full.
Up by 1.5 points at the halfway mark, UCLA scored 49.575 on floor exercise. Lee tied her career high with a 9.900. Emma Malabuyo earned a 10 from one judge and a final score of 9.925. Chiles hit for a 9.950, followed by 9.900s from Campbell and Margzetta Frazier.
The Bruins finished