Casper Ruud crashes out of 2023 Swiss Indoors Basel as Dominic Stricker pulls off "another enormous win"

Casper Ruud has crashed out of the 2023 Swiss Indoors Basel after losing to Dominic Stricker in what commentators described as "another enormous win" for the home player, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (1).

World No. 8 Ruud has been struggling to put together consistently good results over recent months. Nevertheless, he looked to be back on form in the first round after he defeated Alexander Bublik 7-6 (5), 6-2, even hitting an impressive tweener lob in the process.

However, his run at the ATP 500 tournament in Switzerland came to an abrupt end in the second round after a three-set thriller against World No. 96 Stricker.

Things looked worrying for Stricker at the start of the match, as the 21-year-old called for a physio after the first three games and ultimately had to take a medical timeout. However, he came back fighting, showing good movement and smart use of angles to break Ruud in his third service game.

Stricker then built up two set points while leading 5-3 on Ruud's service game. Although the Norwegian player held, his opponent delighted the crowd by successfully serving for the set.

However, Ruud was not done yet, and he fought back in the second set. Both players held until Stricker appeared to experience a dip in form with back-to-back double faults. This helped Ruud immensely in securing a break against the Swiss player.

Although Ruud won the second set, Stricker kept his composure in the decider until a tiebreak was needed to decide the winner.

Stricker got the first mini break and was able to build up a 6-1 lead from there. Ruud looked bewildered as the match slipped away from him and his opponent successfully converted match point.

This puts Ruud's chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals at significant risk, as he needed a deep run to push into the Top 8. Meanwhile, it boosts Stricker's chances in the race to the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah, where he is currently in sixth place.

Stricker will face Ugo Humbert in the quarter-finals in Basel.