Ruud Survives In Five

Casper Ruud used all of his mental toughness to pick up his maiden win at the Next Gen ATP Finals on Wednesday, weathering several momentum shifts in his match with Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to prevail 3-4(2), 4-3(2), 4-2, 3-4(2), 4-1.

Their clash at the Allianz Cloud features several milestone moments. The Norwegian’s victory is the first five-setter of this year’s event and had more games (32) than any match in tournament history. Ruud also utilised the first-ever video review in the opening game of the match.

Ruud has enjoyed a breakout season that has seen him climb more than 50 spots in the ATP Rankings, recording his first ATP Tour final in Houston (l. to Garin) alongside a pair of semi-finals in Sao Paulo and Kitzbühel. He moves to 1-1 in Group A, while Davidovich Fokina drops to 0-2

The second match of Wednesday’s schedule features more Group A action as top-seeded Aussie Alex de Minaur takes on Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic. Group B headlines the night session, with second-seeded American Frances Tiafoe battling Frenchman Ugo Humbert and Italian Jannik Sinner squaring off with Swede Mikael Ymer.

More to follow…

from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/2WLSqfu