Norrie made it to the final in Buenos Aires a year ago and has a significant number of points to defend as he competed against a local hero in front of an enthusiastic Argentine crowd.
Coria proved to be superior on his preferred clay surface and secured a 6-2 4-6 6-3 victory.
Norrie showed improvement after a mistake-filled first set and managed to even the match, but more errors cost him dearly in the decisive set.
The 28-year-old will drop to at least 23 in the rankings on Monday, and he may face a further decline if he fails to successfully defend his title at the Rio Open next week, where he defeated Carlos Alcaraz in last year’s final.
If he were to exit early in Rio, he could fall outside the top 32 in the ATP rankings, leaving him vulnerable to being unseeded in Grand Slam tournaments.
This was not part of Norrie’s plan when he spoke to “I want to be more assertive on the court,” Norrie stated. “Taking control of points and making things happen without waiting for them. That’s what I’m focusing on. You need courage to execute a plan, and that’s what I need to do.
“There are two ways to gain confidence. Either through practice or during matches. I felt that I was practicing really well towards the end of the year, but I lost a couple of close matches in China.
“If I had won those, I would have gained momentum and things would have started to happen. I was very close to catching that wave, but credit to my opponents in some crucial situations.
“I lost in the third set in Shanghai and then lost in Beijing against (Andrey) Rublev. I was playing against top players, and those matches were tight, so I know I don’t need to make too many changes to turn things in my favor.”
Norrie expressed disappointment with his performances in 2023 and aims for a better year in 2024. However, he knew that this would be a challenging period of the season due to the significant points he needs to defend from the South American clay court swing.
“Honestly, I was hitting the ball the best I ever have in my career, but there is still a lot to learn,” he added.
“In the last three years, I think I’ve played more matches than anyone on the entire tour. There were a lot of matches and a lot of traveling, which I enjoy. But as I gain more experience and get a little older, I will pay closer attention to my schedule. Maybe take one or two weeks off.
“I’m someone who always wants to do more, always wants that extra bit. That’s my style of play, and if I’m not fresh, it can be tough to achieve that.
“My game doesn’t overpower opponents with big serves, so I need to be 100 percent fresh. Maybe not playing for one week and prioritizing a bigger tournament is something I will consider.”
According to the Source tennis365.com