Tennis pundits said Casper Ruud did not stand a chance against World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz in their round-robin match at the 2024 ATP Finals in Turin, Italy.
Ruud was winless in his career against Alcaraz in four previous matches. Three were on outdoor hardcourts and one was on clay. The pair never played on an indoor hardcourt before.
Ruud d. Alcaraz 6-1 7-5 at ATP Finals
Down 2-5 in set 2, Casper won 5 consecutive games
He had lost 7 of his last 8 matches heading into this
He also had a 0-4 record against Carlos
✅6th top 10 win of 2024
✅Won 5 of last 6 matches against top 10Making noise in Turin. 🇳🇴 pic.twitter.com/bkZ0TAcsXD
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) November 11, 2024
Carlos Alcaraz did not play to his usual level. There were many unforced errors, problematic drop shots that are normally his forte, and uncharacteristic service breaks.
However, all credit goes to Casper Ruud. He kept his foot on the gas pedal as Alcaraz mounted a comeback in the second set going up 5-2. He kept his serve intact and played a great match overall to secure the win 6-1, 7-5. This is a huge win for Ruud who has been in a slump of late and has not beaten a Top 40 player since the Paris Olympics.
RAMPANT RUUD 💪
The moment @CasperRuud98 recorded his first EVER win over Alcaraz 6-1 7-5!#NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/zAuqklbrqf
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) November 11, 2024
There are indications that Alcaraz has not physically been feeling well, suffering from a cold in Turin. That could have contributed to his performance, but Alcaraz is the ultimate sportsman and would never use that as an excuse. Carlos Alcaraz will give all of the credit to Casper Ruud who only took one set from him in the prior matches before Monday.
Ruud himself seemed a bit surprised about the result in his post-match interview.
Casper Ruud after beating Carlos Alcaraz at ATP Finals in Turin
“Did you expect this kind of match?”
Casper: “I don’t know what I expected. I just wanted to play a good match. I tried my best from the first to the last point. Everyone knows how fantastic Carlos is as a player… pic.twitter.com/BzWYAuU5m1
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) November 11, 2024
Carlos Alcaraz And Daniil Medvedev Have Shaky Starts
The surface is fast, but it is perplexing that both Alcaraz and Medvedev had straight-set lopsided losses in their opening matches in round-robin play.
It has been a long season for these men.
In addition to Casper Ruud, Jannik Sinner and Taylor Fritz won their opening-round matches. On Monday afternoon, World No. 2 Alexander Zverev takes on Andrey Rublev in the last match of Round 1.
