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.



Olympic Cauldron to Rise into Paris Skies Each Night

 Paris 2024 Olympics - Paris, France - July 27, 2024. A general view of the balloon and Olympic cauldron in Jardin des Tuileries. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Paris, France - July 27, 2024. A general view of the balloon and Olympic cauldron in Jardin des Tuileries. (Reuters)
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Olympic Cauldron to Rise into Paris Skies Each Night

 Paris 2024 Olympics - Paris, France - July 27, 2024. A general view of the balloon and Olympic cauldron in Jardin des Tuileries. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Paris, France - July 27, 2024. A general view of the balloon and Olympic cauldron in Jardin des Tuileries. (Reuters)

The Olympic cauldron that made a stunning first flight at the Paris Games opening ceremony will sit on the ground during the day and rise again every evening.

Paris Olympics organizers said that from Saturday, the cauldron attached to a balloon will fly more than 60 meters (197 feet) above the Tuileries gardens near the glass pyramid entrance to the Louvre museum from sunset until 2 a.m.

During daytime hours, 10,000 people each day can get free tickets to approach the cauldron, which is the first in Olympic history to light up without the use of fossil fuels.

Organizers said the electric flame uses 40 LED spotlights “to illuminate the cloud created by 200 high-pressure misting nozzles.”