Defending Champion Norrie Beats Seyboth Wild to Reach Rio Open Semifinals

Cameron Norrie of Britain in action against Hugo Dellien of Bolivia during a match in the Rio de Janeiro Tennis Open at Jockey Club Brasileiro in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 19 February 2024. (EPA)
Cameron Norrie of Britain in action against Hugo Dellien of Bolivia during a match in the Rio de Janeiro Tennis Open at Jockey Club Brasileiro in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 19 February 2024. (EPA)
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Defending Champion Norrie Beats Seyboth Wild to Reach Rio Open Semifinals

Cameron Norrie of Britain in action against Hugo Dellien of Bolivia during a match in the Rio de Janeiro Tennis Open at Jockey Club Brasileiro in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 19 February 2024. (EPA)
Cameron Norrie of Britain in action against Hugo Dellien of Bolivia during a match in the Rio de Janeiro Tennis Open at Jockey Club Brasileiro in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 19 February 2024. (EPA)

Defending champion Cameron Norrie beat Brazil's Thiago Seyboth Wild 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 on Friday to reach the semifinals of the Rio Open.

The second-seeded British player will take on Argentina's Mariano Navone on Saturday. Navone overcame Brazil's 17-year-old sensation João Fonseca 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.

The 23rd-ranked Norrie became the favorite to win the clay court tournament again after Carlos Alcaraz retired with a right ankle injury and Stan Wawrinka and Nicolás Jarry were defeated.

The British player said he was excited playing against the crowd who saw him win the tournament last year in a hard-fought final against Alcaraz.

“This was a very fun match and the public certainly had a great part in that,” Norrie said. “These are the matches you want to play. At night, with the public cheering for you or against you.”

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 Cerúndolo beat Serbia's Dusan Lajovic 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. His semifinal rival will be Sebastián Báez, who beat Brazil's Thiago Monteiro 6-4, 1-6, 6-2.



‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
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‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)

The Paris Olympics look likely to get off to a soggy start.

Meteo-France, the French weather service, is predicting “flooding rains” Friday evening when the opening ceremony is set to unroll along the Seine River. But the show is set to go on as planned, starting at 1:30 p.m. EDT/7:30 p.m. CEST and should last more than three hours.

Already in the late afternoon, skies were gray with intermittent drizzle. There was a silver lining, though, with temperatures expected to stay relatively warm throughout the evening.

Instead of a traditional march into a stadium, about 6,800 athletes will parade on more than 90 boats on the Seine River for 6 kilometers (3.7 miles). Though 10,700 athletes are expected to compete at these Olympics, hundreds of soccer players are based outside Paris, surfers are in Tahiti and many have yet to arrive for their events in the second week, organizers said Thursday.

Hundreds of thousands of people, including 320,000 paying and invited ticket-holders, are expected to line the Seine’s banks as athletes are paraded along the river on boats.