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Spanish clay court specialist Albert Ramos-Vinolas was happy that he managed to win the Estoril Open but also felt sorry for his close friend Cameron Norrie. Ramos-Vinolas, seeded at No. 7, recovered from a set down to beat world No.
50 Norrie 4-6 6-3 7-6 (3) in the Estoril Open final. "It means a lot [to win the title]. I won three tournaments in my career, so this is one of the best three weeks in my career. I am really happy,” Ramos-Vinolas said, as quoted on the ATP website.
“It was a really difficult match against Cameron. I think he played a really good tournament. I am happy for me, but he is a really good friend of mine and I am sorry for him, because I think he deserved to win the tournament as [much as] me”.
Ramos-Vinolas came up big in key moments
Ramos-Vinolas recovered from an early break down in the first set but Norrie claimed his second break in the ninth game, before serving out for the opener in the following game.
Ramos-Vinolas was also down by a break in the second set but he responded with back-to-back breaks to win the set and force a decider. Norrie recovered from an early break down in the third set to ultimately force a tie-break, in which Ramos-Vinolas recovered from a 3-1 deficit to win the title.
“I know how difficult it is to win one tournament. I know how difficult it is to be consistent week after week and I can just [say] that I am really happy and I want to enjoy this moment," Ramos-Vinolas said. Great Britain's Norrie showed his respect for Ramos-Vinolas and spoke positively of the Spaniard.
"Albert is like a big brother on tour for me. It’s tough to lose, but Albert was better than me in the end," Norrie said, per the tournament's Twitter account.