Casper Ruud let go of his stranglehold on Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, with the Spaniard rearing up to earn a 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (4) upset of the third seed on Thursday at the Toronto Masters.
Double Grand Slam finalist Ruud from Norway had recovered after dropping the opening set and was serving for victory leading 5-4 in the deciding set.
But the Scandinavian failed to lock in his victory, with his opponent breaking and forcing a tiebreaker on the way to the upset third-round victory.
The win took nearly three hours and puts the Spaniard into his fourth quarter-final at the Masters 1000 level; he faces off on Friday against Mackenzie McDonald, a 6-3, 6-3 winner over the last Canadian standing, Milos Raonic.
“I told myself to be there, don’t give up,” the winner said. .
“It’s very tough to close out such an even match with so many long rallies. When I broke at 5-4 it was a show of power.”
Ruud fought hard, saving two match points in the final tiebreaker before going down.
Davidovich Fokina ended with 49 winners and 56 unforced errors. The match was paused for an hour and three-quarter hours in the second set because of rain.
Main photo:- Alejandro Davidovic Fokina celebrates victory in Toronto by ATPTour.com
