Casper Ruud advances to the round of 16 in Madrid

(Cameron Norrie – Casper Ruud 2–6, 4–6) The Norwegian now has seven straight victories. Commentator believes Ruud (25) has never been better.

– I say as Christian Paasche said in the commentary: It is world class. It is easy to throw out that statement, but right now I think Ruud is playing the best clay tennis in the world, says Sverre Krogh Sundbø, TV 2’s tennis commentator, to VG.

The victory was the Norwegian’s seventh straight victory in a row. Thus, Ruud also got revenge for the loss against Cameron Norrie in the Australian Open in January. Then the Briton won 3–1 in sets.

– Has Ruud ever been better than now?

– It is quite possible that he has played certain sets and certain matches that have been as good as this. But his level, repertoire and arsenal have never been better, Krogh Sundbø continues.

Cameron Norrie

Number 30 in the ATP ranking before the tournament.

In the round of 16 in The ATP Masters 1000 tournament The ATP Masters 1000 tournament The Masters 1000 are the most prestigious tournaments on the ATP tour outside the Grand Slam.meets Ruud Felix Auger-Aliassime. The Canadian is ranked number 35 in the ATP rankings before the tournament.

– He is a “scary” player who has been in the top ten in the world and won many titles. We played against each other here three years ago – he is a threat and is getting scary, says Ruud to the organizer after the match.

When Ruud and Auger-Aliassime met in the 1/32 semi-final of the Madrid Open in 2021, the Norwegian won 0–2 in sets (1–6, 4–6).

– In the form Casper is in now, I don’t think the Canadian will pose any major challenges on the gravel, Krogh Sundbø considers.

– Auger-Aliassime was one of the big shooting stars who would become world leaders – he was just as “hyped” as Carlos Alcaraz in his time. He is still good as a driver, but is best on the hard court.

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Against Norrie, Ruud was superior in the first set and took just 32 minutes to win the first set 2–6. The 25-year-old got off to a dream start and quickly went up to 0–3 in games.

– The first set was almost flawless. It was a very good set. Cameron may not have felt quite at his best at the start, and I took advantage of that, says Ruud to the organiser.

Norrie made it exciting early in the second set and led 3–1 in games.

But Ruud hit back strongly. The Norwegian tennis ace won three games in a row and equalized at 4–4.

Norrie won the following game, before Ruud took the last two in superior style.

PS! Rafael Nadal also advanced to the round of 16 after beating Argentina’s Pedro Cachin 2–1 in sets (6–1, 5–7, 6–3). In the round of 16, Nadal meets 31st-seeded Jiri Lehecka from the Czech Republic.