By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday November 15, 2022
Norway's finest edged Taylor Fritz in a third-set tiebreak to move into the last four at the ATP Finals.
Photo Source: Getty Images
Casper Ruud continues to ride the hot hand at the ATP Finals.
The 24-year-old Norwegian edged past American Taylor Fritz, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(6) to win the Green Group outright and book his spot in the semi-finals at Turin for the second consecutive year.
It was a tense battle, with both players managing a single break of serve in the opening two sets as the pair split hairs and went to a decider.
It was Ruud who had the extra gas to finish off what became a very tense contest, as he fought off a late push from Fritz, who rallied from 5-1 down to 6-all in the breaker before dropping the final two points.
For Ruud, a sense of satisfaction after a season that has seen him break through to two major finals, at Roland-Garros and the US Open.
“Fortunately for me, things went my way there in the end,” Ruud said on court after his victory. “You sort of think you have it when you’re 5-1 up in the tie break and then it turns around. Taylor played some great points, hit some incredible winners there to come back to 6-all, and I maybe hesitated a little bit when I had a 6-4 lead, but it’s normal.
“It’s normal, there’s a lot at stake, of course, we were both playing to reach the semi-final and we know that in the back of our minds.”
For Fritz, a sense of disappointment lingered as he prepares to face Auger-Aliassime with his season on the line.
“It's a lot different in this format,” he said. “Typically when you lose, you leave. Obviously the match tonight, it sucks to lose that. It was so close. I need to regroup because I come back against Felix and win that, then I'm out of the group.”
Fritz owns the 1-0 edge over Auger-Aliassime, having defeated him at the ATP Cup in January.
“It's going to be a lot of big hitting,” the American said. “Kind of honestly how every match is going to go on this court, it's going to come down to protecting your serve well, maybe making something happen on the return game. It's really going to just come down to holding serve and playing my service games well.”
RUUD LOOKS FORWARD TO IDOL CLASH
Ruud’s victory eliminated Rafael Nadal from semi-final contention in Turin. The Spaniard is slated to face Ruud on Thursday and the Norwegian hopes he can find a way to earn a win from his longtime idol.
“It's going to be a tough match,” Ruud said. “Of course I'm going to try to win. I think you never know if you will get to play these big guys again. They are getting older, as we know. I know I will play Rafa five more times in the next weeks in an exhibition. But in an official match, it's different.
“Grand Slam king Nadal and Ruud, who are good friends and sometime practice partners, will square off in five exhibition matches in South America in November. The exo series begins in Buenos Aires, Argentina on November 23rd.
“It's his last match of the ATP Tour season, and he will try to do his best to try to win it,” Ruud said. “I will try to do my best to beat my idol. It is fun when your idols become your rivals and competitors, it means you have been able to do well. I feel just privileged to be in the position to play against him. Of course I will give my best. I will try to learn from what I could not do last time, try to finish the group winning three of three. That would be the dream situation.”