Carlos Alcaraz was upset by Nicolas Jarry of Chile 7-6 (2), 6-3 in the semifinals of the Argentina Open.
Jarry, after the biggest win of his career, will face home crowd favourite 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 previous 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. The Chilean was also competitive against Alcaraz last year at the Rio Open tournament, but left the court in tears after a defeat in three sets.
“Carlos is one of the best, this means a lot to me,” Jarry said after the match. “After the battle, I had a couple of days ago (against Stan Wawrinka), a tough one physically, I am extremely happy I managed to compete again.” Díaz Acosta entered as a wild card at a career-high ranking of 87, defeated Argentine compatriot Federico Coria 6-2, 6-3 in his first tour semifinal.
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