April 21, (THEWILL)- Norway’s Casper Ruud gained sweet revenge over Stefanos Tsitsipas, beating the Greek fifth seed 7-5 6-3 to capture the Barcelona Open title on Sunday. Just a week after losing to Tsitsipas in straight sets at the Monte Carlo Masters, the third-seeded Ruud turned the tables to claim his 10th ATP clay court title.
“Honestly, this has been worth the wait,” said Ruud after capturing the biggest title of his career, with all previous triumphs coming at ATP 250 events. “A lot of finals I’ve lost have been tough, a bit disappointing, of course. Any time you reach a final, it’s nonetheless a good week, so you can’t be too hard on yourself but this one has been a long time coming.”
Ruud halted Tsitsipas’ 10-match winning streak in the final. Though the Greek gained an early break, Ruud settled in and frustrated Tsitsipas with his relentless baseline tactics. The Norwegian maintained the upper hand throughout the second set without facing a break point.
“In Monte Carlo I was always on the back foot, too far behind, and he had too much time to control the game,” Ruud explained. “It was a tricky start here, I got broken right away. So not the best start, but I managed to settle in and broke him back.”
The world number six will hope the Barcelona triumph boosts his chances of finally winning a Grand Slam on clay after runner-up finishes to Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic at the French Open the past two years.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
