Casper Ruud continued his Australian Open campaign with a straight sets victory against Jaume Munar in the second round.
Ruud prepared for the Australian Open with several tennis legends and it’s worked in his favour so far in Melbourne.
The Norwegian has defeated Mattia Bellucci and Munar without dropping a set, and he will play Marin Cilic in the third round.
Ruud’s display against Munar was heavily praised, with Naomi Cavaday even going so far as to dub him ‘world class’.
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Ruud has never previously shown his best tennis at the Australian Open, having only reached as far as the fourth round of the Melbourne event.
His performances at this year’s event have started to turn heads, however, with the Norwegian now being considered one of the contenders for the tournament.
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Speaking on TNT Sports, Naomi Cavaday said: “Casper Ruud moves into the third round of the Australian Open. He hasn’t dropped a set, he hasn’t been broken. He is looking very, very sharp. Three times he has been in a Grand Slam final, and could he be a dark horse here?
Her broadcasting partner, Jo Durie, added: “Very good performance. I thought by Casper Ruud, his concentration is absolutely world class, and his opponent did everything he could, tried as hard as he could, but in the end [Ruud was] solid as a rock.”
Ruud will set up a mouth-watering tie with Ben Shelton in the fourth round if he beats Cilic in his next match.
Casper Ruud vs Jaume Munar dubbed ‘brutal’ at the Australian Open
Ruud might have come through in straight sets against Munar, but he was made to work for his latest victory.
Every set was evenly contested, and Cavaday called the match ‘brutal’ after Ruud had confirmed the win.
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“They were really going for it, massive forehand strikes, lots of running around as well but Ruud just keeping him at bay all the way through,” said Naomi Cavaday on TNT Sport.
Jo Durie was in agreement with Cavaday in her praise for the Spanish Davis Cup star. She said: “Yeah I liked his effort, Munar. He does give it all, doesn’t he? And it’s good to see, right to the end.”
Ruud has an excellent record against Munar, having now beaten him in six of their seven meetings on the ATP Tour.
