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Defending champion Cameron Norrie lost in straight sets to Argentine qualifier Mariano Navone in the semi-finals of the ATP Rio Open.<\/b><\/p>\n
Norrie, 28, was aiming to win back-to-back titles at the Brazilian clay court tournament after defeating Carlos Alcaraz in last year’s final.<\/a><\/p>\n But the British number one struggled in hot and humid conditions in Rio.<\/p>\n The 22-year-old Navone, ranked 113th in the world, won 6-4 6-2 to reach his first ATP final.<\/p>\n He will face compatriot Sebastien Baez after the world number 30 won 7-5 6-4 against another Argentine, Francisco Cerundolo.<\/p>\n Both Navone and Norrie broke serve in the opening two games before Navone gained the decisive break in the seventh game of the first set.<\/p>\n They exchanged breaks again at the start of the second set, and Navone broke Norrie once more in the third and fifth games before closing out the win.<\/p>\n “It’s incredible,” said Navone. “I played so good all week. Today was very hot and humid, it’s tough to play in these conditions, but I’ve played six matches in a row so I feel pretty good.”<\/p>\n This was Norrie’s second tournament since reaching the last 16 of the Australian Open,<\/a> having fallen at the first hurdle against world number 106 Federico Coria in Buenos Aires.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n