Casper Ruud came into his third Nitto ATP Finals appearance on a 1-7 stretch, but the Norwegian quickly put those struggles behind him with a first-time victory Monday.
Winless against Carlos Alcaraz in their four prior meetings, Ruud flipped the script in their series after surprising the crowd inside the Inalpi Arena with a 6-1, 7-5 scoreline. The 2022 runner-up reeled off the final five games in securing his first win over a Top 3 opponent on hard courts (previously 0-5) and 50th victory of the season.
“I played some really good tennis on the break points when I had to. I was able to hold him off on my own serve,” Ruud told Tennis Channel’s Prakash Amritraj afterwards. “I think it’s no secret that maybe physically he’s not necessarily 100 percent today. I’ve seen him around blowing his nose. Maybe he has a little bit of a cold. It looked like it, at least. We all know how great Carlos is at his best, so in a way, I was kind of lucky he wasn’t today.”
Alcaraz held two immediate break points in the opening game, but couldn’t find the court on either opportunity—a sign of what was to come for the world No. 3 to try and work through.
