Casper Ruud makes winning start in Barcelona by beating Shelton

The previous match they played was won by Ben Shelton however this time around it was Casper Ruud who proved better in two sets 6-2 7-6(1).

Ruud didn't have a good time in Monte-Carlo last week losing early but he played a fair amount better in his first Barcelona Open match. The opponent was Ben Shelton, a player who beat him before however this time it was played on a surface that Ruud favours. It was pretty evident early on in the match that Rudu had really good control over proceedings.

He won the opener 6-2 losing only 5 points on his first serve and without facing any break points. The second set was quite a bit closer as Shelton played much better with the set ending in the tiebreak. Ruud had chances to finish off things much sooner as he was up a break and even served for the match.

He allowed Shelton to break which extended the match but Ruud made sure there are no surprises in the tiebreak which he won 7-1. A good start for the clay specialist.