Casper Ruud

[Bombardiero]

[Damian]

[Damian]

Ruud Beats Opelka To Give Team Europe Laver Cup Lead

Spoiler:

Felix will try to level for Team World when he faces Berrettini
Casper Ruud got Team Europe off to a good start on Friday afternoon at the Laver Cup by defeating Team World's Reilly Opelka 6-3, 7-6(4) after one hour and 46 minutes inside Boston's TD Garden.

The Norwegian star forced the big-serving American to play grinding baseline rallies and saved all three break points he faced to take a 3-0 lead in the pair's ATP Head2Head Series. Team World's Felix Auger-Aliassime will now try to level the competition when he faces close friend Matteo Berrettini of Team Europe.

"I was quite nervous in the beginning," Ruud said in his on-court interview. "It's a big stadium, big crowd. You get chills when you walk on court. You have the intro, the music and seeing all the legends. But luckily I handled it well."


Ruud needed three sets to win his first two matches against Opelka, most recently triumphing against him in a final-set tie-break in Cincinnati. But on a slow indoor hard court in Boston, the Norwegian was at home as he limited the free points he gave the home favourite and controlled rallies from the baseline. Opelka prefers to be the aggressor, but he was too often left chasing after balls just to try to put them back into play.

Captain John McEnroe, Nick Kyrgios and John Isner urged Opelka to mix things up and go for more on certain points to plant seeds of doubt in Ruud's mind. The American rushed the net and served and volleyed on occasion. In the second-set tie-break, he hit a backhand drop volley with so much backspin, it bounced on Ruud's side and back into the net.

But Ruud never panicked and pumped his fist after hitting a deep return that forced Opelka to make his final error of the match into the net.

"I got an early break, which kind of calms the nerves down a little bit. I'm sure it was the same for Reilly, he's playing at home," Ruud said. "I was just trying to enjoy the moment and play without pressure. It was a very good match for me."

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/laver-c ... oon-report

[Bombardiero]

[Bombardiero]

[Bombardiero]

[Bombardiero]

[Bombardiero]

[Bombardiero]

[Bombardiero]

[Bombardiero]

[Bombardiero]

[Bombardiero]

[Bombardiero]

[Bombardiero]

[Bombardiero]

[Bombardiero]

[Bombardiero]

[Damian]

Ruud Ousts 'Legend' Murray In San Diego

Spoiler:

Norwegian will next play Sonego
Andy Murray was trying to earn his first Top 10 win in more than a year on Thursday evening. But World No. 10 Casper Ruud would not let that happen.

The Norwegian star eliminated the former World No. 1 7-5, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals of the San Diego Open. Ruud will next play ninth seed Lorenzo Sonego.

“On the opposite side of the net from me was a legend of the game [from] the past decade or so. Even what he’s done now the past [few] years, fighting his way back from a very serious injury, it’s been an inspiration for me," Ruud said in his on-court interview. "Also for the [past] 10, 15 years, he’s been an inspiration to watch on TV the way he fights and always finds a way to never give up.”

“It’s been an unfortunate couple of years for him, but it’s great to see him back and I think he was playing at a high level today.”

Watch Highlights


Murray came into the clash match tough after making the Metz semi-finals last week and beating American Denis Kudla in the first round in San Diego. But the three-time major champion managed to win just 51 per cent of his service points and lost serve five times in his defeat.

Ruud returned from near the back wall for both first and second serves, giving himself time to unleash heavy forehands and take control of the points. Murray at points took the initiative and played aggressively but Ruud, who has won four clay-court titles this year, showed his speed and defensive skills to get out of trouble.

The Norwegian let slip an opportunity to serve for the match at 5-3 in the second set. But he quickly rebounded to break Murray for the fifth time and seal his victory.

“It’s nice to be here in San Diego. It’s my first time. It’s a great city,” Ruud told the fans. “Tennis players, we usually never get to see much of the west coast… to have an event here in San Diego, I hope they can repeat it for more years in the future.”


Ruud’s next opponent, Sonego, defeated #NextGenATP American Sebastian Korda 6-4 6-3 in one hour and 27 minutes. The Italian has now beaten Korda twice on hard courts this year.

Ruud won his only previous ATP Head2Head meeting against Sonego last year on clay in Rome.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/ruud-mu ... 1-thursday

[Bombardiero]