ATP Estoril: Pedro Martinez defeats Casper Ruud in the final against Hubert Hurkacz
The number one at the ATP World Tour 250 tournament in Estoril, Casper Ruud , had to admit defeat to Pedro Martinez in three sets in the semifinals. The Spaniard will face the Pole Hubert Hurkacz in the final.
by Stefan Bergmann
last edit: Apr 06, 2024, 10:03 pm
Casper Ruud and Pedro Martinez fought for 3 hours and 7 minutes to reach the final of the ATP World Tour 250 tournament in Estoril. In the end, the 26-year-old Spaniard was able to celebrate a hard-earned 6:4, 4:6, 6:4 victory over the current number eight in the ATP rankings. The Norwegian had already reached two finals this season - on hard courts in Los Cabos and Acapulco. The two-time Roland Garros finalist from Oslo had not yet managed to win a tournament this year.
In the deciding set, Martinez, who stood out today with his extremely precise and aggressive clay court tennis, was already leading 5:1, but had to let Ruud get back to 5:4. With the score at 2:5 from Ruud's perspective, he initially fended off two match points from the Iberian before breaking to reduce the score to 3:5. However, the northerner was unable to make the necessary second break at 4:5, and Martinez served out to 30.
Surprise man in the final against Hurkacz
In 2021, the man from the Valencia region lost to Ruud in three sets in the final of the Generali Open in Kitzbühel. In 2022, Martinez achieved his only tournament victory to date at the clay court tournament in Santiago de Chile. It was also the southern European's first triumph over a top 10 player.
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Previously, Hubert Hurkacz, number two at the prestigious clay court event in Portugal, had defeated Chilean Cristian Garin 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, thus securing his first final appearance in the 2024 season. For the 27-year-old Pole, it is the first final on sandy terrain; the strong-serving man from Wroclaw's last tournament victory was at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Shanghai, when he beat Russian Andrey Rublev in three close sets in the final.