Alcaraz Claim Buenos Aires Title on Return to Tour
Carlos Alcaraz made the perfect return to the ATP Tour, quickly finding his match sharpness and playing some very solid tennis to win his first title of 2023 in Buenos Aires. Alcaraz only really struggled in the first set of his first match and went from strength to strength thereafter, beating a dogged Cameron Norrie 6-3 7-5 in the final.
In the end, Alcaraz simply had more firepower and variety than Norrie and bamboozled the Brit with an excellent selection of powerful winners, accurate serving and delicate dropshots to win his 7th ATP title. This was an important week for Alcaraz, who was playing his first tournament of the season after a 4-month injury layoff. It was important for the young Spaniard to get some matches under his belt before a busy period of tennis. Indian Wells and the Miami Masters are coming up, where Alcaraz has a lot of points to defend, followed by the crucial European clay court swing, where Alcaraz will have the chance to make his mark on his favourite surface.
It was a challenging but rewarding week for Norrie, who struggled early on in the tournament and wasn’t far off losing in his first couple of rounds but found a way through to the final, where he was ultimately outclassed by a superior opponent. Both Alcaraz and Norrie will return to action in Rio next week as the Top 2 seeds, with Alcaraz carrying the added pressure of being defending champion.
It was also an important week for Daniil Medvedev this week, who had fallen out of the Top 10 and looked to be on a steady decline ever since his meteoric rise to World Number One. A set down to Davidovich Fokina in Round 1 and playing without any aggression or conviction, things looked bleak for Medvedev. But a fighting comeback in that match, followed by a string of impressive victories has seen Medvedev claim his 16th ATP Title and secure a return to the world’s Top 10. Medvedev defeated an in-form Jannik Sinner 5-7 6-2 6-2 in a tightly contested final, where Medvedev adjusted quickly to Sinner’s tactical gameplan to triumph in 2 hours and 19 minutes.