Carlos Alcaraz’s bid for his first ATP Finals title took a serious hit Monday as he fell 6-1, 7-5 to Norway’s Casper Ruud in his opening match.
Despite the round-robin format providing an opportunity to get better, the third seed now faces a slim path to progress, needing important enchancment in his remaining group matches.
Ruud, ranked seventh on this planet, had beforehand misplaced all 4 encounters with Alcaraz, however he saved break factors within the opening sport and went on to dominate the primary set as uncharacteristic errors crept into the Spaniard’s sport.
Alcaraz responded positively to maneuver 5-2 forward within the second set, breaking serve with a deft volley, and was two factors from leveling the match, solely to capitulate.
He dropped serve at 5-3 and seemed forlorn as Norwegian Ruud roared to victory, successful the final 5 video games.
Alcaraz, who gained the French Open and Wimbledon titles this 12 months, is hoping to turn out to be the primary Spaniard to win the distinguished year-end title since Alex Corretja in 1998.
Ruud did not convert his first two match factors however closed it out on the third try and put himself in a powerful place within the John Newcombe Group, which continues later Monday when Germany’s Alexander Zverev takes on Russian Andrey Rublev.
“This is one of the best wins of the season for me,” Ruud mentioned in a courtside interview.
“I feel happy, of course. I’ve seen Carlos play better tennis than he played today, but I still had to take my chances.”
The Ilie Nastase Group started Sunday with world No. 1 Jannik Sinner beating debutant Alex De Minaur and American Taylor Fritz overcoming Russian Daniil Medvedev.
While Alcaraz claimed the Beijing title in September, his kind since successful Wimbledon has been patchy, together with a second-round exit on the U.S. Open.
The 21-year-old made 34 unforced errors in opposition to Ruud, along with his normally harmful forehand misfiring. Most of the drop photographs he tried both discovered the online or had been simply dispatched by the grateful Norwegian.
Ruud, who reached the ultimate in 2022 however misplaced to Novak Djokovic, mentioned Alcaraz had been affected by a chilly in Turin.
“I knew he was maybe dealing with a cold. I’ve seen him snuffling around in the player area with tissues, so that’s a sign he may not be 100% physically,” Ruud mentioned.
“That’s sad for him, but it’s also part of the game, and I knew it coming in. I wanted to make him play rallies. I was able to turn around the second set with some good tennis at the end.”
Source: www.dailysabah.com