ATP Rome: Ruud bites through against Cerundolo
Casper Ruud (ATP No. 4) is slowly getting going on his favorite surface, sand. The Norwegian won against Francisco Cerundolo (ATP No. 31) 7: 6, 6: 4 and is thus in the semifinals of the ATP Masters tournament in Rome for the third time.
by Dietmar Kaspar
last edit:
May 17, 2023, 10:10 pm
Here you can read the entire match in the live ticker.
Caution was advised for No. 4 seed Casper Ruud against Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo. The two previous encounters on clay went to the 24-year-old Cerundolo, while the two-time Grand Slam finalist won the only encounter on hard court.
Ruud got the better start to the game, taking a 4-1 lead. Cerundolo fought back, but had to admit defeat to the more consistent Norwegian 5:7 in the tie-break.
In the second round, momentum was initially on the side of Cerundolo, who was able to take the first service game from Ruud, who was the same age. The 10-time ATP title holder from Oslo then found more and more of his safe game and ended the match 7: 6 (5), 6: 4 after 2:05 hours of play with a service winner.
In the semi-finals, Ruud will meet Dane Holger Rune, who is listed at No. 7 in a Scandinavian duel. So far, Ruud has had a very changeable clay court season. His win at the opening tournament in Estoril was followed by early defeats at the previous Masters tournaments in Monte Carlo and Madrid.