The Norwegian Casper Ruud won the ATP 500 in Barcelona for the first time by beating the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5 and 6-3 in the final.
Ruud He took revenge for the defeat suffered a week ago against his rival at the Monte Carlo Masters 1000 to win the main trophy of his career.
“Thank you very much for the support this week, this track is my new favorite track from today,” the Norwegian said with a smile.
Tsitsipasfor its part, is still unable to win this title, despite having played four finals in seven years.
Barcelona ATP 500: Gasper Ruud won the tournament
With this victory in 1 hour and 29 minutes, the Norwegian confirms his good form a few weeks before Roland Garros, where he will be one of the favorites after having been a finalist in 2022 and 2023.
“It means a lot to me, it’s the biggest title of my career. It’s something I’ve been looking for for a long time,” Ruud said.
“I didn’t start well, but fortunately I was able to get into the match and play very well at the end of the first set and in the second set,” added the Norwegian.
Ruud He started behind on the scoreboard when the Greek broke serve in the first set to end up leading 2-0.
Supported by a powerful forehand, the Norwegian reacted to make a ‘counterbreak’ in the sixth game to equalize 3-3 and take the lead with his serve, regaining the initiative of the match.
Ruud He took advantage of his opponent’s errors to lead 6-5, break his rival’s serve with his first break ball and close the set 7-5.
The second set was dominated by the Norwegian against a Tsitsipas nervous and seemed somewhat blocked.
Ruud He broke his rival’s serve in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead and confirmed the 4-1 lead with his serve, an advantage that the Greek was unable to reverse.
It was enough for the Norwegian to hold his serve to close the set 6-3 and win his first ATP 500 tournament, after having previously won ten 250 titles.
Ruud and Tsitsipas now aim for the Madrid Masters 1000 which starts next week.
Source: Ambito
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