Casper Ruud battles past van de Zandschulp in Monte-Carlo

ATP
Wednesday, 12 April 2023 at 13:35
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Casper Ruud squeezed past Botic van de Zandschulp in two tight sets at the Monte-Carlo Masters 7-5 7-6(1) to advance to the next round.

Ruud came to Monte-Carlo after a good outing in Estoril where he won his first trophy of the year after what was the worst start to a year he had since becoming a pro. Boosted by confidence, the Norwegian produced another solid effort to take down the Dutch number one in two sets. It wasn't easy and it required some sweating but he got it done.

The first set was quite balanced as they posted similar stats but Ruud was a bit more balanced in his approach. He wasted early break points but broke a few games later only to give it back two games later. It was 4-4 with van de Zandschulp looking good but a minor mistake at 5-5 gave Ruud another break and this time he didn't let it go.

The second set was quite similar in the sense that both were on a similar level but van de Zandschulp wasted a huge chance. He lost his serve in the first game but broke back in the next one. He then went on to win a few more taking a 4-1 lead with a very solid chance to force a 3rd set but Ruud battled back.

Then it was time for Ruud to mess up after he got broken when serving for the match but the Norwegian held firm in the tiebreak beating the Dutch player 7-1 to move on.

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