Casper Ruud rotten luck continues as he loses out in first match in Bastad
Casper Ruud has now lost three of his four matches played since reaching the final of the French Open as the Norwegian fell to Francisco Cerundolo in Bastad, Sweden.
The 23-year-old sits at a career-high ranking of fifth, but that will be no consolation for him as he lost 4-6, 6-3, 5-7 to his Argentinian opponent.
Since reaching the championship match in Paris and losing to his idol Rafael Nadal there, Ruud has won just one of four matches, his Wimbledon first round encounter with Albert Ramos-Vinolas last month.
Seeded first in Bastad and coming into the tournament as defending champion, the ATP 250 event looked like a chance for Ruud to squeeze a little extra out of the clay before the US hard court swing, but Cerundolo had other ideas.
“It was a great challenge for me and I’m really happy to come through,” Cerundolo, also 23, said after defeating Ruud for his first career win over a top 10 player.
A First Top 10 Win! 🎉@FranCerundolo upsets World No. 5 Casper Ruud with a 6-4 3-6 7-5 win in Bastad#NordeaOpen @NordeaOpen pic.twitter.com/Zk7bNOX7O3
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) July 13, 2022
Since Ruud is Norwegian and Bastad is played in neighbouring Sweden, many of the fans were backing the Nordic talent against Cerundolo.
The Argentinian world number 39 joked: “hopefully on Friday you’ll cheer for me!”
Cerundolo is enjoying a career-best season as this victory takes him to a win-loss record of 13-11 on the ATP tour in 2022.
He awaits the winner of Aslan Karatsev and Hugo Gaston next in the quarter-finals of the Nordea Open.
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