Ruud exacts revenge on Tsitispas in Barcelona
Casper Ruud avenged his defeat to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Monte Carlo Masters final a week ago by defeating the Greek to take the Barcelona Open crown, winning 7-5 6-3 in his first appearance in the showpiece.
The 25-year-old Norwegian clinched his first ATP Tour title of the season, converting three of six break points he earned as he proved the more consistent from the baseline on Pista Rafa Nadal.
“Honestly, this has been worth the wait,” the No.3 seed said. “A lot of finals that I’ve lost have been tough, a bit disappointing, of course. Any time you reach a final, it’s nonetheless a good week, so you can’t be too hard on yourself, but this one has been a long time coming.
“I’m super happy to do it here in Barcelona in front of a packed stadium and on Rafa Nadal Court. It’s special to me because I looked up to him all my childhood, came here myself as a 13-year-old boy to watch him and the others play here. It’s a great feeling.”
Ruud broke a 10-match winning streak for Tsitsipas and revealed how he managed to beat a man in such good form.
“Just to kind of [bring] it to him a little bit more than last week,” Ruud revealed when asked what he had done against Tsitsipas in Barcelona compared to Monte-Carlo.
“In the final in Monte-Carlo I was always on the back foot, too far behind, and he had too much time to control the game.
“It was a bit of a tricky start, got broken right away, so not the best start, but I managed to settle in and broke him back. Clutched up and broke him in the end of the first, which was huge.
“It’s been two long weeks for both of us. It’s obvious that at some point fatigue is going to kick in. I think we were both fit enough to play today, it’s not about that, but winning the first set was huge probably for either of us.”
Tsitsipas hinted that tiredness may have played a part in his defeat, but perhaps it was more mental than physical.
“I wasn’t playing my best tennis this week in Barcelona, but I was still able to find a way and get to the final,” the 25-year-old said.
“Throughout the whole week I didn’t feel like my shots had the same effect as they did in Monte-Carlo.
"I still fought, and still made it happen. Being in the final is amazing, I would take that any day, being in the final.
“I’m just happy I was able to find ways to get here. Today it felt like I didn’t have the mental capacity. Casper was too good today. He had the fresher mind, played better tennis, and he deserved to win.”
