RIO DE JANEIRO — Defending champion Cameron Norrie of Great Britain beat Brazil’s Thiago Seyboth Wild 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 on Friday to reach the semifinals of the Rio Open.
Norrie, the tournament’s No. 2 seed and the 23rd-ranked player in the world, will take on either Brazil’s teenage sensation Joao Fonseca or Argentina’s Mariano Navone on Saturday.
Norrie became the favorite to win the clay court tournament again after Carlos Alcaraz retired with a right ankle injury and Stan Wawrinka and Nicolas Jarry were defeated.
Earlier Friday, two players from Argentina won their quarterfinal matches and will face off for a place in the final of the clay-court tournament.
Fourth-seeded Francisco Cerundolo beat Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. His semifinal rival will be Sebastian Baez, who beat Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro 6-4, 1-6, 6-2.
