RIO DE JANEIRO — Defending champion Cameron Norrie beat Tomás Barrios Vera of Chile 6-1, 6-1 to succeed in the quarterfinals of the Rio Open on Thursday.
The second-seeded Norrie wanted simply 26 minutes to take the primary set of a match initially scheduled for a day earlier however postponed due to rain.
The British participant will face residence favourite Thiago Seyboth Wild on Friday.
The 82nd-ranked Seyboth Wild superior by beating Spain’s Jaume Munar 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 to change into the primary Brazilian to succeed in the match’s quarterfinals since 2017.
No. 23 Norrie turned the favourite to win the clay court docket match as soon as once more after Carlos Alcaraz, Stan Wawrinka and Nicolás Jarry have been all earlier overwhelmed or retired injured.
Eventually yr’s French Open, Seyboth Wild upset Daniil Medvedev within the first spherical.
“Wild is a good participant. He performs rather well as an underdog, in Grand Slams in opposition to high gamers,” Norrie mentioned. “I noticed him on the French Open and in opposition to (Andrey) Rublev this yr. I do know what to anticipate, a troublesome match. His high degree is actually excessive.”
Later, 17-year-old João Fonseca turned the primary participant born in 2006 to succeed in the quarterfinals of an ATP Tour match. He beat the 2020 Rio Open champion Cristian Garin of Chile 6-4, 6-4 and can tackle Argentina’s Mariano Navone, who got here from qualifying, for a spot within the semifinals.
“I actually wanted the group’s help to safe this win, nerves have been turning into a difficulty,” Fonseca mentioned after his victory. “I can barely consider this, this week has already modified loads in my life.”
