2nd seed Cameron Norrie squares off against Bernabe Zapata Miralles in the semifinals of the 2023 Rio Open on Saturday.
The 27-year-old will be eyeing his second final in two weeks. He came into the tournament after losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the finals of the Argentina Open.
Norrie managed to defeat Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the first round in straight sets 7-5, 6-1. The British athlete followed it up with another win in two competitive sets 7-5, 7-5 to oust home favorite Thiago Monteiro. Norrie could have finished the match earlier but his conversion of break points was not up to the mark. He could convert only 5 out of 21 break points. In the quarterfinals, Norrie came back from a set down to defeat Hugo Dellien 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. The world No. 13 had a win percentage of 78 on the first serve and converted 4 out of 8 break points.
The Spaniard had never reached the semifinals of an ATP event before the Argentina Open last week. Now he has reached back-to-back semifinals with some gritty performances.
In the round of 32, Zapata Miralles made light work of Jaume Munar, winning in straight sets 6-3, 7-5. The former managed to convert 7 out of 10 break points. In the round of 16, he played some fine tennis in sets one and three to get the better of 4th seed Francisco Cerundolo 6-1, 4-6, 6-1. The 26-year-old followed it up with a hard-fought win against fellow Spaniard and 7th seed, Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the quarterfinals. The match ended 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in favor of Zapata Miralles.
This will be the first meeting between Cameron Norrie and Bernabe Zapata Miralles. Therefore, the head-to-head scoreline currently stands at 0-0.
Prediction: Cameron Norrie to win in three sets.
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