BUENOS AIRES/STARNBERG, February 14, 2022
Casper Ruud captured his seventh ATP Tour career title by lifting the trophy of the $686,700 Argentina Open, the second stop of the Latin American “Golden Swing” hosted by the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club.
In front of an energized crowd on Sunday afternoon, the World No. 8 and top seed from Norway recovered from a set deficit to overcome home favourite Diego Schwartzman 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 in two hours and 35 minutes.
Seventh Heaven 🏆
Make that 7️⃣ titles for @CasperRuud98!#ArgentinaOpen pic.twitter.com/iZlsXAuZn9
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 13, 2022
“It’s been an unbelievable week,” said Ruud, who won the clay-court tournament at the “Cathedral of Argentinean tennis” in 2020. “To come back here and try to defend the title not from last year but from two years ago has been a challenge, and I enjoyed every minute of it.
“Playing in front of all the fans on this Centre Court was a great feeling again, being back on clay, coming back to South America after two years, so I hope I can come back next year and try to do the same.”
Ruud is now unbeaten after two appearances in Buenos Aires, and Sunday’s win extended the Norwegian’s winning streak in ATP 250 events on clay to 18. The 23-year-old Oslo native pocketed $91,600 in prize money as well as 250 ATP Ranking points.
Gonzalez/Molteni triumph in doubles
In other action, Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico and Argentine Andres Molteni claimed their fourth ATP Tour title as a team when they defeated Fabio Fognini from Italy and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina 6-1, 6-1.
The champions won 53 per cent of their return points and broke serve five times in their 46-minute victory.
