Casper Ruud is yet to drop a set as he marches towards the final of the Estoril Open in Portugal, where he hopes to successfully defend the title he won last year and increase his career tally to 11.
Moving on to the semi-finals without having to spend three hours on court is fantastic. I will have extra energy and time to recover for tomorrow. Casper Ruud
The Norwegian, seeded one at the ATP 250 level tournament, squashed Marton Fucsovics in 68-minutes, 6-3 6-2 to make the semi-finals where he will face the Spain’s Pedro Martinez, the 6-4 6-4 conquered of the French veteran Richard Gasquet.
Ruud has made his name on clay courts having reached the final of Roland Garros twice, and won 9 of his 10 titles on the surface, as he prepares for the next edition of the French Open which starts late May,
Following his win on Friday, Ruud turned his mind back to when he tasted a heavy defeat at the hands of the Hungarian.
“I’ve seen Marton play better, definitely I’ve felt Marton play better, because the last time we played I lost 6-0 6-0 to him, double bagel,” Ruud said of a loss at a challenger event in Budapest in 2017. “It’s some years ago now but happy to get my revenge.
“A bit unfortunate for him, struggling a bit physically [toward the end of the match]. But for me it’s another good match on the clay in Estoril.”
And claiming a quick victory, he believes, will held him over the next two matches.
“Moving on to the semi-finals without having to spend three hours on court is fantastic,” Ruud said. “I will have extra energy and time to recover for tomorrow.”
The second semi-final will see Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz, the second seed, take on the Chilean Cristian Garin.
Hurkacz beat Spanish qualifier Pablo Llamas Ruiz 7-6(4) 6-4 who was making his first quarter final appearance at this level but, while he played well during the first set, he was unable to maintain it in the second.
After a one-sided first set, Borges worked his way back into the match with the crowd’s support, but at 3-2, he had a break opportunity which could have been crucial in his favour.
Cristian Garin survives a controversial point
(Photo by Carlos Rodrigues/Getty Images)
An ‘out’ call from the crowd, ignored by Borges who played on, lead to a miss from Garin which the umpire awarded to the Chilean. Borges complained and was told the pojnt could not be replayed, a decision which the supervisor supported.
With the crowd booing both the umpire and the supervisor, the match continued but Borges could not make the comeback they all hoped for.
At the end of the match Garin declared: “He (the umpire) stopped the point. I stopped too. I didn’t know if it was my point or if we had to replay it, we had to check.”
Borges also commented on the incident: “He knows he made a mistake. It didn’t make any sense: points shouldn’t be interrupted when someone in the audience starts screaming. He heard something from the stands but continued and then made a mistake. Garin himself told me he was wrong…”
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