ATP: Casper Ruud wins first career title in Buenos Aires
Casper Ruud defeated Pedro Sousa in the final of the ATP Tour 250 tournament in Buenos Aires and, after a convincing week, won the title in the Argentine capital with a 6: 1 and 6: 4 against Lucky Loser Pedro Sousa.
by Robin Huiber
last edit: Feb 16, 2020, 08:23 pm
The final was then only a matter of form, which lasted only 70 minutes: The 21-year-old Norwegian beat his ailing opponent Pedro Sousa 6: 1 and 6: 4 smoothly in two sets. For the Portuguese, this was the second loss at the tournament in Buenos Aires. In qualifying Sousa was already defeated by Facundo Bagnis, but then slipped into the main field as Lucky Loser. The 31-year-old took this opportunity to reach his first final in an ATP Tour 250 tournament, where he also benefited from Diego Schwartzman's job in the semi-finals. The Argentinian was unable to compete against Pablo Cuevas after his quarter-final thriller.
Casper Ruud, on the other hand, who was number eight, convinced through and through. The Norwegian only had to submit one set throughout the tournament. This was the case against local hero Juan Ignacio Londero in the semifinals. On his way to the final, Ruud also beat Pablo Andujar, Roberto Carballes Baena and the number three seeded Dusan Lajovic.
The first tournament victory and the associated 250 points now shoot the 21-year-old in 38th place in the world rankings, which is a new high for him (previously 45).