By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday February 13, 2022
Casper Ruud stretched his clay-court winning streak to 15, topping Diego Schwartzman for his second Buenos Aires title.
Photo Source: Getty
Casper Ruud is proving to be excellent on all surfaces, but when the hard-hitting Norwegian returns to his beloved clay he reminds us once again where his true predilections lie.
The 23-year-old battled past a feisty Diego Schwartzman, the No.2 seed, 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 to claim his seventh ATP title – and sixth on the red stuff – on Sunday in Buenos Aires, hammering home the point that on clay he’s far better than his current ranking of No.8 in the world.
“It means a lot,” said Ruud, who won the Buenos Aires title in 2020 and did not play the event last year. “This is the first time I had to defend a title and I’m super happy and very excited – I’m excited for all the clay tournaments obviously to come this year. Let’s see how I can do but the goal is of course to do well, and I think this is the perfect start – it will build confidence for the rest of the season and also for the next weeks when I’m here in South America.”
Ruud improved to 78-30 lifetime on clay, and 49-11 since the start of 2020, as he fought of Schwartzman and the Argentinian faithful to earn his second Argentina Open title.
Schwartzman gave it everything and he was rewarded for his efforts in the first set when he saved a set point by winning a 42-stroke rally and snagged the final three games of the first set to take it, 7-5.
But Ruud quickly put it behind him and was the stronger player in sets two and three. He wore down Schwartzman with his heavy topspin drives and grinding consistency off of both wings.
“A lot of up and downs, I think it was a good match overall,” Ruud said after the victory. “Diego played a very good first set and I was struggling to get the important points. “I just tried to fight and stay in there the whole match because I know how things can change in a tennis match, and luckily it did my way today.”