BASTAD, July 16, 2021
Top seed Casper Ruud began his Nordea Open title bid on Thursday in Bastad with a comfortable 6-0, 6-2 victory over Danish teenager and wild card entry Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune.
The World No. 16 from Norway sent down six aces and won 82 per cent of his first-service points to claim his 18th clay-court win of the season after 65 minutes.
Ruud flies past Rune ⚡️
Top seed @CasperRuud98 races into the last 8 in Bastad, defeating rune 6-0 6-2 pic.twitter.com/jobZ5B4LH7
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) July 15, 2021
“I am very happy today. It is a surface I have had the most success of my career, it is great to be back here in Bastad,” said Ruud, who lifted the trophy of the the Geneva Gonet Open in May. “The tournament is so nice as always. There is a bit of extra pressure. In a match like this against a fellow Scandinavian younger player, it is even more.
“I think I was very professional in my mindset today. I played a match without any errors really from the first to the last point. It is a nice feeling being the top seed but also pressure. I felt great crowd support, it is nice to feel that energy.”
Ruud will next take on Henri Laaksonen. The qualifier from Switzerland defeated Swedish wild card entry Elias Ymer 6-2, 7-5 in one hour and 22 minutes.
Roberto Carballes Baena upset third seed Fabio Fognini 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 to reach his third tour-level quarterfinal of the season in Bastad. The 28-year-old Spaniard won five points more than the Italian to secure victory in two hours and four minutes.
Carballes Baena will next face Slovakian Norbert Gombos, who knocked off eighth seed Emil Ruusuvuori from Finland 6-2, 6-4. The encounter lasted 73 minutes.
