Ruud, Paul march into Stockholm QFs

Casper Ruud marked his first appearance at the BNP Paribas Nordic Open since 2019 with a hard-fought win Wednesday against Lorenzo Sonego.

The second seed was dialled in throughout the contest, prevailing 6-3, 7-6(3) to become the first Norwegian player to record a match win in Stockholm tournament history. Ruud, who is currently seventh in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, took another step towards qualification for the Nitto ATP Finals.

“I haven’t won many matches lately, so this was a nice win,” said Ruud, who improved to 5-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series. “It was great to get my first win in Stockholm.”

QF bound ?@CasperRuud98 | @sthlm_open
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Ruud got off to a blistering start, winning 80 per cent (12/15) of points behind his first delivery in a 39-minute opening set, according to Infosys ATP Stats. Despite a second-set fightback from the Italian, Ruud held his nerve in a tie-break to advance to the quarter-finals.

The 25-year-old will next face seventh seed Tallon Griekspoor, who edged past British qualifier Jacob Fearnley 7-6(0), 6-3.

“It’s going to be really tough, Tallon is a great player, especially indoors,” said Ruud. “He has big weapons, a big serve. I am just going to do my best.”

Fourth seed Tommy Paul clinched a personal-best 42nd win of the season with a 6-2, 7-6(2) victory over Laslo Djere. The American, who won the title in Stockholm in 2021, had to rally back from a break down in the second set, but stood firm to cross the line in one hour, 38 minutes.

Paul, who is currently 11th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, is bidding to ignite a late charge to qualify for his maiden Nitto ATP Finals. The 27-year-old trails eight-placed Andrey Rublev by 645 points.

Earlier, wild card Stan Wawrinka produced a vintage performance against sixth seed Brandon Nakashima to become the second oldest player to record a match win in tournament history (Phillips-Moore, 40, in 1997).

The 39-year-old was imperious in his service games en route to a 6-4, 6-4 victory over the American. Wawrinka will next face Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina for a spot in the quarter-finals.

On a day of Swiss success in the Swedish capital, Dominic Stricker also claimed a statement triumph to upset Matteo Berrettini 7-6(6), 6-4. The 22-year-old saved two set points in a thrilling first-set tie-break, before converting a crucial break in the tenth game of the second to seal victory.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]