Casper Ruud beat Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic and is ready for the third round of the Madrid Open tennis tournament.
Saturday 27 April at 23:24
– I really enjoy being on the gravel, it’s my favorite time of the season. Now we are back on the gravel in Europe and I like that. It wasn’t easy today. It was a bit of a bumpy start and it took time to get used to it. I am satisfied with the performance, said Ruud after the victory
The Norwegian won the match on the Spanish clay with the set numbers 6-4, 6-1. He thus continues his good form after the victory in Barcelona last weekend.
Ruud then took his biggest title of his career to date in the tournament which is at ATP 500 level. The tournament in Madrid is a notch more prestigious at its 1000 level. Ruud reached the semi-finals in Madrid in 2021. Last year there was an exit in the second round.
Ruud was glad the match was not a long one, especially since it was played quite late in the evening. He was already looking ahead to the next match and wanted to quickly return to the hotel.
– I am satisfied with the performance. I will spend tomorrow well and recover. It’s already a bit cold here tonight, said Ruud in an interview shown on TV 2.
– I feel like you’re riding a bit of a wave now, so I just want to ride it as long as possible before it’s over.
British Cameron Norrie awaits in the next round, who beat Brazilian Joao Fonseca 6-1, 6-4.
Kecmanovic won the first two matches against Ruud at ATP level. It was indeed back in 2019. A lot has happened for Ruud since then, and last year Kecmanovic was beaten in the final in Estoril.
In Saturday’s match, the Norwegian was broken in his first service game and struggled to put his opponent under pressure.
– There is a lot of weakness from Casper initially. He makes bucketloads of unforced errors, said TV 2 commentator Sverre Krogh Sundbø.
– There were perhaps a bit too many unforced errors, Ruud himself admitted to TV 2 after the match.
After a weak opening, the Norwegian woke up and won four straight games, but was broken back immediately afterwards. Ruud nevertheless got a small grip on the match and won the first set 6-4.
The second set started like the first in which the duelists broke each other several times. Ruud eventually got himself together and took the lead 4-1. He did not give up that lead on his way to victory.
Ruud is the fifth seed in the tournament as world number one Novak Djokovic is not competing. The Norwegian is number six in the world ranking after a lot of climbing this season.
The Norwegian has played two finals in a row on the ATP tour (Monte-Carlo Masters and Barcelona).
Both times, Stefanos Tsitsipas has been an opponent, but that doesn’t happen in Madrid. The Greek retired in the second round after losing to Thiago Monteiro (Brazil).
