Casper Ruud advanced to round three at the Australian Open following a straight-sets win over Jaume Munar.
The Norwegian, competing in the main draw at Melbourne Park for the seventh time in his career, beat Munar 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 on Margaret Court Arena.
Ruud is now one win away from matching his best finish at the Australian Open, which he managed in 2021 by making the fourth round before losing to Andrey Rublev.
He will now face former US Open champion Marin Cilic in the next round, against whom he has an undefeated record of 4-0 at tour-level events.
With his triumph over the Spaniard, Ruud has managed to complete an impressive feat for just the second time in his career.
Casper Ruud manages accomplishment for first time since 2019
Ruud kicked off his Australian Open campaign comfortably by beating Italian star Mattia Bellucci in the first round, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.
Having enjoyed another flawless win in his round-two matchup with Munar, Ruud has now booked his place in the third round of a Grand Slam without dropping a set for just the second time ever, according to Mario Boccardi on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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The last time he managed this was back in 2019, when he beat Ernests Gulbis and Matteo Berrettini in his opening two matches at Roland Garros.
He was beaten by Roger Federer in the third round in Paris that year, with the Swiss handing him a straight-sets defeat of his own.
Ruud has made the championship match of a Grand Slam three times, with two final appearances at the French Open and one at the US Open.
Casper Ruud says he hopes to play the night session in his next match
In his on-court interview after beating Munar, Ruud suggested the night conditions favoured him.
He said: “The only thing I hope is [that] I play in the night on Saturday because it’s going to be like 40 degrees.
“It’s like triple tonight to the degrees, so I don’t know what’s going on in Melbourne, but it’s like four seasons in a day.
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“I guess that’s what they say, and it’s almost as cold as back home, so no problem. I feel right at home.
“It’s almost freezing, but no I mean then special thanks to everyone who stayed. I know it was cold, I know it was late, and yeah, thank you.”
Ruud is seeded 12th at this year’s Australian Open and is still in pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title.
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