Barcelona title win worth the wait for Ruud

Casper Ruud took revenge for a finals loss a week ago, defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5, 6-3 on Sunday to win the Barcelona Open.

The sixth-ranked Norwegian earned the most prestigious honour of his career in 89 minutes as he reversed the result of last weekend’s Monte Carlo final won by the Greek.

Claiming the Spanish trophy at the 500 level clay event meant a breakthrough for Ruud, twice a Roland Garros finalist.

The 25-year-old holds 10 titles at 250 tournaments and had lost all seven of his previous higher-level finals before this week.

“This was definitely worth the wait,” the winner said. “Reaching any final is a good week – this has been a long time coming.

“I was happy to win in front of a packed crowd in the Rafa Nadal stadium. I looked up to him all of my childhood.

“This is a great feeling.”

Ruud lost his opening serve against Tsitsipas but quickly began to make up ground, breaking twice to claim the set.

In the second, the Scandinavian applied the pressure to a somewhat listless Tsitsipas, claiming victory on the first of three match points as the Greek returned long.

Ruud was playing his fourth final of the season and ended a run of five consecutive losses in title matches dating to last season.

His last final came in April, 2023, in Estoril.

Ruud increased his lead in the season match-win table to 28 while explaining his winning strategy in the final.

“I wanted to give it to him more than last week,” he said of his Monte Carlo loss. “It was a tricky start for me – not the best

“But I settled in and got the break back, Winning the first set was a huge advantage.

“It’s been a long two weeks for both of us. I knew at one point fatigue would kick in.” 

Ruud won the title without losing a set and is the first Scandinavian to lift the Catalan trophy since Swede Kenneth Carlsen in 1988.

Main photo:- Casper Ruud wins Barcelona title – ISF Ltd