Rudd rallies past difficult French opponent

Casper Ruud had to break back against a feisty French opponent on Wednesday to win his opening match at the ATP Barcelona Open, with the weekend Monte Carlo finalist going past  Alexandre Muller 6-3, 6-4.

The this-seeded Norwegian, who lost the final on Sunday in the principality to Stefanos Tsitsipas, was on track in the Catalan capital to serve out victory over his 110th-ranked opponent.

But Muller broke as the Scandinavian served for victory, which required Ruud to break back a game later to secure his place in the third round.

He notched his ATP-leading 25th victory of the season, level with world No. 2 Jannik Sinner.

 “It was a strange ending,” Ruud said after breaking six times from 16 chances.

“It was a tricky match for sure, there was not much time to adjust from Monte Carlo but at least here we are using the same ball as last week.

“I’m happy to get the win – that’s the most important thing.”

Ruud ended with 28 winners while his opponent had 32 unforced errors.

“The clay is a bit different here, nothing to complain about,” Ruud said. “It’s a bit more lively, more bouncy; you can feel small difference here and there.”

Bill Scott

Recent Posts

Davis Cup Final to mark Nadal goodbye to tennis

Rafael Nadal will bring down the curtain on his career next month as he plays his…

3 weeks ago

Wimbledon lowers the boom on human linecalling

Wimbledon on Wednesday brought an end to human linecalling at the most traditional of the…

3 weeks ago

Djokovic rolls Cobolli as Shanghai fights to restore order

Novak Djokovic returned to action after waiting tow days to play as the rain-hit Shanghai…

4 weeks ago

Innocent umpiring error screws Stan in Shanghai

Stan Wawrinka may have been inadvertently short-changed during Monday's third-round loss at the Shanghai Masters…

4 weeks ago

Sinner sweeps Fritz to win US Open

Jannik Sinner schooled Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 to win his second Grand Slam title…

2 months ago

Sabalenka wins Open title for Grand Slam hat-trick

Aryana Sabalenka completed a Grand Slam title hat-trick on Saturday as she fought from 5-3…

2 months ago