Casper Ruud He has been, for some seasons now, an entertainer of the big events of men’s tennis. In the last two years he played, for example, the final of three Grand Slam tournaments, two Masters 1000 and some ATP Finals. And he even became number two in the world. However, he had a pending account: owner of ten ATP 250 titles, he had never won a competition in a category higher than that. Until this Sunday.
The Norwegian broke the spell in the ATP 500 de Barcelona. And he did it with a doubly special victory against Stefanos Tsitsipas. Because he not only managed to finally win his first trophy at that level, the second most important on the major circuit. But he did it without giving up a set all week and also took “revenge” for the tough defeat he had suffered at the hands of the Greek a week ago in the decisive duel in Monte Carlo.
Ruud, third favorite of the Count of Godówon 7-5 and 6-3 against Tsitsipas, fifth seed, but one of the big favorites after his recent consecration in the Principality.
“The wait was worth it”, Ruud acknowledged. “A lot of the finals I lost along the way were very tough. Every time you get to a final, it’s a good week, so you can’t be too hard on yourself. But this title was a long time coming. I’m super happy.”
During the awards ceremony, he received a huge ovation from the audience when he surprised with a brief message in Spanish: “Thank you very much for your support this week. This track Rafael Nadal “It’s my new favorite court and this is my new favorite tournament too.”
The Scandinavian, sixth in the ranking, needed one hour and 29 minutes to seal the victory and deny the Greek, seventh in the ranking, his first celebration in a tournament that remains elusive.
Tsitsipas played four finals in seven years in Barcelona and lost them all. In 2018 and 2021, against Nadal, twelve-time champion on the Catalan clay court, and last year, with Carlos Alcaraz. With this 2024, he joined the club made up of the Spanish David Ferrer and the huge Guillermo Vilasthe tennis players who had lost the most finals in the competition.
This Sunday’s decisive duel had little to do with the one they played seven days ago in the Monegasque Masters 1000, in which Ruud could do little to stop an inspired Tsitsipas and ended up falling 6-1 and 6-4. And the one born in Oslo 25 years ago couldn’t have started the match in a worse way: with a double fault in the first point and losing his serve in the opening game.
After the nervous start, Ruud took the initiative after breaking his rival’s serve in the sixth game and holding his own in the next to go ahead 4-3.
Tsitsipas couldn’t find a way to connect the backhand well and tried to shorten the points with forehand winners or trying to take his opponent to the net. But Ruud began to feel more and more comfortable in the rallies, especially with his backhand, the weapon that worked best for him in the match.
With 6-5 for the Scandinavian, a passing A parallel backhand and a forehand winner gave him two set points. And in the first, the Greek hit the ball into the net to deliver the opening set 7-5.
Tsitsipas seemed to accuse the last two battles he had had in the previous rounds: in the quarterfinals, when he had to save two match points against the Argentine Facundo Díaz Acostaand in the semis, when he had to overcome a one-set deficit against the Serbian Dusan Lajovic. And at the start of the second set, he noticed he lacked energy.
Ruud fulfilled the champion’s tradition and took a dip in the club’s pool. AP Photo/Joan Monfort
On the other hand, Ruud, much less erratic and more solid with the return than his rival, looked fresher and, above all, more convinced that he could achieve victory.
With a break in the fourth game of the second set, the Norwegian went up 4-1 and put the match back on track. He could have even closed it earlier, if he managed to convert the other two break points which he had in the sixth game, but couldn’t.
In the ninth game, a dedicated Tsitsipas threw four balls out, allowing Ruud to hold his serve at love and seal the victory.
“I didn’t play my best tennis here. I didn’t feel like my shots had the same effect as they did in Monte Carlo. In the final I didn’t have the mental capacity to fight, even if I wanted to try hard. Casper was too good, he was fresher in mind, with a better tennis and deserves the victory,” Tsitsipas acknowledged.
“Casper was too good and deserves the victory,” Tsitsipas acknowledged. Photo REUTERS/Albert Gea
Ruud reflected: “I wanted my revenge; I knew I was ready mentally and physically. It wasn’t the best start, but I managed to settle in and pushed him back. And I was able to break him at the end of the first set, which was fantastic.”
And he added: “They were two very long weeks for both of us. It’s obvious that at some point fatigue was going to set in. I think we were both in shape to play, it’s not about that, but winning the first set was huge.”
Professional since 2015, Ruud inaugurated his personal record in 2020 in Buenos Aires. He then added ten other titles, all in 250 tournaments. He won Ginebra, Enough, Gstaad, Kitzbuhel y San Diego in 2021; repeated at the Argentina Open, Geneva and Gstaad in 2022; and conquered Estoril last year.
In the last two years he had several chances to break the spell of the 250. In 2022, he also played in the finals of Miami, Roland Garroshe US Open and the Masters Tournament. She was also a finalist in the French “grande” last year. And this season she competed in the first 500, in Acapulco, and also that of Monte Carlo. But only in Barcelona did he put an end to his bad streak.
2020 Buenos Aires 🇦🇷
2021 Geneva🇨🇭
2021 Bastad🇸🇪
2021 Gstaad🇨🇭
2021 Kitzbuhel🇦🇹
2021 San Diego 🇺🇸
2022 Buenos Aires 🇦🇷
2022 Geneva 🇨🇭
2022 Gstaad 🇨🇭
2023 Estoril 🇵🇹
2024 BARCELONA ATP 500 🇪🇸 ✅@CasperRuud98 captures his 11th and biggest ATP Tour title of his career! pic.twitter.com/ADxFZplrlk— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 21, 2024
“This is the biggest title of my career and it means a lot to me. I had been looking for it for a long time, but I had always come up short. This year I am trying to develop my game in many ways to try to surprise. In the last six months, I’m taking steps in the right direction in my game and I’m glad it’s having an effect,” Ruud said.
“I am very happy that it happened here, in Barcelona, in a full stadium and on a court that bears the name of Rafael Nadal,” he said. “It’s special for me because I admired Rafa all my childhood. I myself came here as a 13-year-old boy to watch him and the others play. Because Tommy Robredo and David Ferrer also inspired me when I was young. And I also spent many years in Spain, without which I would not be here today. “That’s why it’s a great feeling to lift this trophy.”
2024-04-21 18:38:22
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