The Desert Sun

Defending champ Alcaraz upset by Jarry in Argentina

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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – No. 2-ranked Carlos Alcaraz was upset by Nicolás Jarry of Chile 7-6 (2), 6-3 in the semifinals of the Argentina Open on Saturday.

Jarry, after the biggest win of his career, will face home crowd favorite Facundo Díaz Acosta in the final on Sunday. It will be their first tour-level meeting.

Alcaraz was the defending champion but hasn’t looked as sharp and aggressive this week as he was a year ago. The 20-year-old smashed his racket onto the court after his defeat, a rare feature for the Spaniard.

“Congratula­tions to Nico for this match and good luck for him in the final,” Alcaraz said after his defeat. The Spaniard will play next week at the Rio Open tournament in Brazil, also on clay, which he won in 2022 and reached the decider last year.

While he hasn’t played in a final since August nor won a title since Wimbledon, this was only Alcaraz’s fourth loss on clay in 31 matches since the start of 2023. This was also only his third loss in 49 matches in the same period against players ranked outside the top 20. Jarry was ranked No. 21, and had lost both pre- vious matchups with Alcaraz.

Jarry will play for his fourth ATP singles title, all on clay. He lifted his previous trophies in Bastad 2019, Genoa 2023 and Santiago 2023.

 ?? GUSTAVO GARELLO/AP ?? Carlos Alcaraz of Spain reacts after missing a point during an Argentina Open ATP semifinal match against Nicolas Jarry of Chile at the Guillermo Vilas Stadium.
GUSTAVO GARELLO/AP Carlos Alcaraz of Spain reacts after missing a point during an Argentina Open ATP semifinal match against Nicolas Jarry of Chile at the Guillermo Vilas Stadium.

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