[38] Casper Ruud (NOR) vs. [45] Albert Ramos-Vinolas (ESP)
Twenty-one-year-old Ruud finally found the recipe to defeat Ramos-Vinolas. In four previous meetings, the Norwegian came up short. Although, he managed to win two sets previously, he could never seal the deal. Today was a completely different story as Ruud is finally putting it all together. Long talked about as the next promise from Norway, he won his first ATP singles title earlier this month in Buenos Aires.
Ruud’s 2020 Season Off To Nice Start
He was the one dictating play for most of the match, pushing the veteran to come up with some brilliant tennis; however, Ramos-Vinolas has not been at his best of late and he struggled to hold his serve the entire match. Nevertheless, he is a fighter and he managed to push the first set to a tiebreaker. The fight to get that far in the first set against his younger opponent took a toll on the veteran and he lost the first set and perhaps a little of his will to fight.
Ruud’s Forehand Did The Damage
Ruud protected his serve from start to finish, never giving his opponent any opportunity to break his serve. Despite serving less than sixty percent on first serve for the match, the Norwegian won eighty-six percent of those serves due in part to some brilliant forehands. Yet, it was not all clean sailing for the youngster, who served up four double faults en route to the 7-6 (5), 6-2 victory.
Clay is the preferred surface for both players and this could potentially have been a thriller, but the Spaniard was not at his best and after losing the first set, he had nothing left. Ruud will face nineteen-year-old [182] Thiago Seyboth Wild (BRA) in the final. Seyboth Wild will be making his first appearance in an ATP final.
SOURCE OF IMAGES: Zimbio.com (Getty Images Europe: Casper Ruud)
