AFCON 2025
Casper Ruud lived up to his name as he showed no respect to world number 3 Carlos Alcaraz in the opening Group B match at the ATP finals in Turin.
The world number 7 dispatched Carlos Alcaraz in straight set 6-1, 7-5 to record his first win of the season-ending tournament.
Carlos Alcaraz was miles away from his best as he struggled to win his serves in the first set. Casper Ruud broke Alcaraz twice as the raced to a very convincing 6-1 win.
The early stage of the second set was much better for the Spaniard as he played won his first four serves.
Alcaraz broke Ruud for the first time in the match to take a 4-2 lead. The world number 3 went on to his serve to take a 5-2 lead.
Unfortunately, Alcaraz went on to lose 5 straight games in which Casper Ruud broke him twice to seal a 7-5 win for the Norwegian.
Carlos Alcaraz reportedly had a cold en route to the match against Casper Ruud which is believed to be the cause of his poor performance.
While reacting to the victory, Casper Ruud said he was aware of Alcaraz’s situation but had to take advantage of it.
“We all have seen Carlos play better… but I took my chances. I kind of new he was dealing with a bit of a cold. Physically he wasn’t 100% and I knew that. It’s not easy because you sometimes stress yourself but I was able to keep it together”.
The loss leaves Carlos Alcaraz bottom of Group B where he will contend against world munber 2 Alexander Zverev and world number 8 Andrey Rublev.
