What happened to Casper Ruud was difficult to explain. The Norwegian is a tennis player who has been a Grand Slam finalist three times, a regular in the 'top ten' and who was one set away from being number one in the world, an achievement that Carlos Alcaraz avoided at the 2022 United States Open. At 23 years old, Ruud had a record of ten titles, but with the curiosity that they were all in the 250 category, the lowest in the ATP ranking. He had lost seven finals in higher tournaments, including two at Roland Garros and another at the US Open, as well as two at Masters 1,000 and one at the masters tournament.
He had a curse with big tournaments and this Sunday he was finally able to take the pressure off. He defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Conde de Godó (7-5 and 6-3) and captured the first ATP 500 of his sporting career. However, Tsitsipas's misfortune with this type of tournament is prolonged. And the Greek has played eight ATP 500 finals and has lost them all.
The Greek, well escorted by his father, who acts as a coach in the stands, took the initiative in a Barcelona that was waiting for Rafa Nadal or Carlos Alcaraz on a Sunday final. Since 2005, the Spaniard has only missed the event on six occasions, while the last two had ended with Alcaraz champion. With both of them out, Nadal due to losing in the second round against Alex de Miñaur and Alcaraz due to some discomfort in his right arm, Barcelona missed its champions, but Rafael Nadal still filled the court to settle the champion.
Rematch
Tsitsipas struck first, with an offensive game that blurred Ruud, still with the memory of what happened last week in Monte Carlo, when the Hellenic triumphed over him in the Principality. Tsitsipas is an expert in Monaco, where he has won three titles, but Barcelona is not unknown to the Greek and had reached three finals, two losses to Nadal – one of them with match point in favor – and another to Alcaraz.
His start, 3-1 up, suggested that his luck was finally going to change, but as soon as Ruud entered the game, Tsitsipas collapsed. The Norwegian tied at 3-3 and was in position to win the set at 5-6, when the Greek's serve faltered. He rushed with two unnecessary climbs to the net and Ruud was attentive to pass him. In the second, with set point against, the man from Athens hit the volley into the net and conceded the set.
From there, Tsitsipas faded away. His fight in the second set came down to avoiding losing 6-1 and haranguing the crowd when he believed he still had a chance. Despite the fact that he made up until 5-3, Ruud got rid of his fears and phobias and finally grew up on the circuit. The Norwegian can boast once and for all of having a title of over 250 on his record. He succeeds Alcaraz on the list of winners and, with a final in Monte Carlo and a title in Barcelona, in addition to the doubts of Novak Djokovic and the Murcian, he is positioned as one of the favorites for Paris, where he has already reached two finals.
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