By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Sunday, April 21, 2024
Casper Ruud topped Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5, 6-3 in the Barcelona final to snap the Greek's unbeaten clay-court streak and win his biggest title.
Photo credit: Alex Caparros/Getty
Bruised by his finals loss last Sunday, Casper Ruud ripped red revenge today.
Imposing his crackling topspin forehand, Ruud stopped Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5, 6-3 in the Barcelona final to snap the Greek's unbeaten clay-court streak and capture the biggest title of his career today.
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Twelve years after Ruud first visited the tournament as a teenage fan, he realized a dream collecting his 11th career championship. Ruud raised his 2024 record to a Tour-best to 29-7, defeating Tsitsipas for the third time in five meetings.
The third-seeded Ruud grew up idolizing Rafael Nadal, has trained with the king of clay and captured the first ATP 500-level championship of his career on the stadium court that bears the Spanish superstar's name.
“Honestly, this has been worth the wait,” said Ruud, who evened his finals record to 11-11. “A lot of finals that I’ve lost have been tough, a bit disappointing, of course. Any time you reach a final, it’s nonetheless a good week, so you can’t be too hard on yourself, but this one has been a long time coming.
“I’m super happy to do it here in Barcelona in front of a packed stadium and on Rafa Nadal Court. It’s special to me because I looked up to him all my childhood, came here myself as a 13-year-old boy to watch him and the others play here. It’s a great feeling.”
It's an even more satisfying feeling given Tsitsipas dominated Ruud in last Sunday's Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters final.
Tsitsipas streaked through seven straight games dismantling Ruud 6-1, 6-4 to capture his third Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters championship in the last four years last Sunday.
Riding a 10-match clay-court winning streak into his fourth Barcelona final, Tsitsipas started strong aiming for his first career ATP 500-level title.
The world No. 7 broke to open, stretching his lead to 3-1.
Ruud reversed the plot line by playing to the Greek's powerful forehand earlier in rallies enabling him to attack the Tsitsipas one-handed backhand at times. Ruud broke back to level at 3-all.
Playing with more control in baseline exchanges, Ruud broke at 15 to snatch a one-set lead.
Gaining his range and rhythm, Ruud rolled through 12 of 15 points to open a 4-1 second-set lead. Ruud, who converted three of six break points, closed his greatest championship in 89 minutes.
It's Tsitsipas' first clay-court loss of the year as he drops to 0-11 lifetime in ATP 500-level finals.