Casper Ruud failed to back up his stunning upset over Carlos Alcaraz as he lost in straight sets to Alexander Zverev.
The German moved to seven matches unbeaten as he more or less confirmed his spot in the semi-finals.
A two-time champion at the season-ending championships, Alexander Zverev hasn’t put a foot wrong so far, with smart wins over Andrey Rublev and now Casper Ruud.
A clinical tie-break performance was backed up by a clinical break of serve in the second set to see Zverev through.
In a rematch of this year’s French Open final, Zverev now takes on Carlos Alcaraz, recovering from illness and an opening day defeat.
Alcaraz kept his hopes alive by defeating Rublev, but will need a huge moment to secure victory over Zverev if he is to land his maiden ATP Finals title.
Ruud however, after a surprising win over Alcaraz, seems to have turned up his level at the right time after what’s been a rather astonishing second-half-of-the-season slump.
Casper Ruud pinpoints reason behind recent poor form
Ruud has been candid about the challenges behind his recent dip in form, as his win over Alcaraz was only his third ATP victory in his last 12 matches.
The Norwegian began the season well, capturing a title in Barcelona and reaching the semi-finals at the French Open, but has struggled to find success on faster hard courts.
The quick conditions of the autumn season haven’t favored Ruud’s playing style, which thrives on slower, higher-bouncing courts that allow him to utilize his powerful forehand more effectively.
With early exits at recent tournaments, including a fourth-round loss at the US Open, Ruud is eager to regain his confidence but remains realistic about the impact of court surfaces on his performance.
He said, via Punto de Break: “At the US Open, I lost in the fourth round, a decent result, but since then, I haven’t found any confidence, besides not feeling very well physically.
“Honestly, I have faced tournaments on very fast courts in recent months, something I don’t like as much and that other players prefer, but I don’t want to complain or make excuses. It has just been very difficult for me,” he admitted.
“If you watch me play, you will realize that my weapon is my forehand, but it is more effective on slow courts with a high bounce. When I have to hit low, the difference is huge, whereas other opponents perform better with flat shots.
“I also don’t have major reasons to explain those defeats; that’s tennis,” he explained, before caveating: “Although it’s true that historically, autumn has never been a good season for me, maybe in the future, it’s better to stay at home!”
Casper Ruud can still qualify for the semi-finals in Turin
With Zverev and Alcaraz set to play their match first on Friday, Ruud will know exactly what’s required of him before he takes to the court against Rublev later in the day.
Zverev will advance unless he loses in straight sets while Ruud wins his match against Rublev in straight sets. In that scenario, Rublev would be eliminated, and the remaining spots would come down to the percentage of games won among the other three players.
Rublev can only progress if he defeats Ruud in straight sets and Zverev also beats Alcaraz in straight sets, which would allow Zverev to top the group and the second spot to be decided based on game percentages.
Ruud has a chance to advance even if he loses, depending on other results. If Zverev wins in straight sets and Rublev defeats Ruud in three sets, Zverev and Ruud would qualify.
Similarly, if Zverev wins over Alcaraz in three sets and Rublev beats Ruud in three sets, both Zverev and Ruud would make it through.
That sure is complicated! Ruud’s best bet will to take care of his own match and worry only about what he can control.
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