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Casper Ruud and Nikoloz Basilashvili will meet for the first time later on Saturday after both completed rain-interrupted quarter-finals at the BMW Open in Munich.

Second seed Ruud earned a 6-3, 6-4 victory over eighth-seeded Australian John Millman in one hour and 31 minutes, having resumed the match by winning the first three games of the second set. The Norwegian, who is now 12-4 on the season, is through to his 10th ATP Tour semi-final.

“It was difficult,” said Ruud, who reached the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters semi-finals two weeks ago. “John is a very good player, who fights for every point. Luckily, I won the first set yesterday before the rain fell heavily. I re-started well and I will now get some food and be ready to play in the semi-finals. I will give everything I have.”

In-form Norwegian now 7-2 on European clay in 2021
Casper Ruud got off to a strong start against Felix Auger-Aliassime on Tuesday and didn’t look back at the Mutua Madrid Open. The Norwegian, who has reached four straight ATP Tour quarter-finals (or better) this year, knocked out Canadian No. 15 seed Auger-Aliassime 6-1, 6-4 in one hour and 31 minutes on Arantxa Sanchez Stadium.

“I am very happy with the way I played," said Ruud. "I will take all the Masters 1000 wins I can get. I played solid and steady today. Madrid is a little bit different to other clay-court events because of the high bounces and altitude. I hit with good length and I served unbelievably well today. I have been working a lot on my serve recently, so it's nice to see it's coming together a little bit. I hope I can keep my level high.”


Ruud, a semi-finalist at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters (l. to Rublev) and at last week’s BMW Open in Munich (l. to Basilashvili), will now prepare to face Serbia’s Filip Krajinovic or Japanese lucky loser Yoshihito Nishioka. The 22-year-old, who did not face a break point, is now 7-2 on European clay this year.

"I think that I have proved myself in Rome [last year] and in Monte-Carlo that I can play at a high level," said Ruud. "To reach the semi-finals in Madrid, I will have to play well again. I have a lot of motivation to play well throughout the clay-court season."

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Ruud capitalised on errors from Auger-Aliassime to break twice – at 2-1 and at 4-1 – in the first set. The World No. 22 completed the 34-minute opener with a big forehand winner. Ruud saved two break points at 2-2 in the second set, then clinched the seventh game after Auger-Aliassime struck a forehand approach into the net. Ruud closed out the pair's second ATP Head2Head meeting on his fifth match point.

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Auger-Aliassime, who is now 12-8 on the 2021 season, reached the Murray River Open final (l. to Evans) in February.

Nishioka replaced last week’s Millennium Estoril Open runner-up Cameron Norrie in the main draw after the Briton withdrew from the clay-court tournament due to a foot injury.

The Norwegian dismisses the fourth seed in straight sets
Casper Ruud earned one of the biggest wins of his career on Thursday, upsetting red-hot Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6(4), 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals of the Mutua Madrid Open.

The Norwegian had previously been winless against top five opponents in the FedEx ATP Rankings. But the World No. 22 showed no fear against the fourth seed, earning the lone break of serve in the second set to triumph after one hour and 34 minutes.

"He is one of the best players this year on the Tour, one of the ones who has won the most matches. He's won his first Masters 1000 in Monte-Carlo. Barcelona he was very close to getting the title there, as well," Ruud said of Tsitsipas. "But the conditions are a bit different here than other clay courts with the fast shots, the ball traveling faster through the air because of the altitude. You get a lot of free points with the serve that you don't usually [get] on the clay courts. I think that also today went a bit in my advantage.

"I felt like he was doing some mistakes that he doesn't always do. I was just trying to take care of the chances that I got."

How To Watch

Ruud is into the quarter-finals of his third consecutive clay-court ATP Masters 1000 event. The 22-year-old made the semi-finals of last year’s International BNL d’Italia and this season’s Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

"It's given me more and more confidence the more matches I've won," Ruud said. "I'm feeling good, especially here in Europe on the clay."

Tsitsipas is the leader in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin, having lifted his maiden Masters 1000 trophy in Monte-Carlo and reaching the final in Barcelona, where he held championship point against Rafael Nadal in the final before losing. But he was unable to overwhelm Ruud, who did not face a break point in his victory.

The Next Gen ATP Finals alumnus will have a chance to make the last four in the Caja Magica when he plays Alexander Bublik, who defeated 2021 breakthrough star Aslan Karatsev 6-4, 6-3 earlier in the day. The Norwegian won his only previous ATP Head2Head clash against Bublik in three sets in St. Petersburg two years ago.

"He's definitely playing very well here in Madrid. He also won three matches. He's serving unbelievable," Ruud said. "He can do anything with the ball. He can play drop shots and winners, the most incredible shots. Underarm serve. I have to be prepared for everything tomorrow."