BASTAD, July 13, 2022
Francisco Cerundolo headlined Wednesday’s second-round action at the Nordea Open in Bastad by knocking out World No. 6 and top seed Casper Ruud from Norway 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. The 23-year-old Argentine withstood nine aces and broke Ruud’s serve three times, the decisive one in the 12th game of the final set, to seal victory in two hours and 33 minutes.
A First Top 10 Win! 🎉@FranCerundolo upsets World No. 5 Casper Ruud with a 6-4 3-6 7-5 win in Bastad#NordeaOpen @NordeaOpen pic.twitter.com/Zk7bNOX7O3
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) July 13, 2022
“I think I was playing really well in the first one-and-a-half sets, and then I got a little bit tight,” said Cerundolo afater his first Top 10 win. “I started missing a little bit and he started serving better. He’s a great player, a French Open finalist, so it was a great challenge for me and I’m really happy to get through.”
The World No. 39 will next take on Aslan Karatsev of Russia, who beat Frenchman Hugo Gaston 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 30 minutes.
Earlier in the day, Pablo Carreno Busta notched his 250th tour-level win with a hard-fought 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-5 triumph over 2016 champion and fellow Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas. The fifth favourite struck six aces and won 73 per cent of his first service-points to prevail after two hours and 46 minutes.
Carreno Busta will next play Diego Schwartzman of Argentina. The No. 3 seed of the ATP 250 Tour clay-court tournament opened his title bid in Sweden with a 7-5, 6-3 win over home favourite Elias Ymer. The encounter lasted one hour and 53 minutes.
