(Casper Ruud – Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-7, 6-4, 6-7) Casper Ruud (24) reacted to unsportsmanlike behavior, struggled with his lower back and had to wait for the weather to stabilize before participating in the Canadian Championship. Open.
- Casper Ruud (24) lost to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at the Canadian Open with numbers 6-7, 6-4, 6-7.
- Ruud retired after a very even three-set match, which included controversy surrounding Fokina’s forearm serve, which Ruud considered unsportsmanlike.
- Despite medical issues in his lower back and a rain delay, the Norwegian managed to win the second set.
- Fokina, ranked 37th in the world, won the deciding tiebreak and will face Mackenzie McDonald in the quarterfinals.
- This marks Ruuds against Fokina, without rematch after their meeting at Roland Garros in 2021.
Casper Ruud was able to achieve victory in the third set, but failed at the most important moment. In the deciding tie-break he lost 4-7.
– It’s disappointing to lose at the finish, but that’s how it is. It’s part of the game. You just have to grit your teeth and move on, Ruud tells NTB.
He thus did not have revenge after losing to the same man at Roland-Garros in 2021.
- The Canadian Open is broadcast on Discovery+ and Eurosport.
It was a very balanced first set between the two. There was a bit of drama when the Spaniard chose to take a forearm serve. Ruud did not reach the short serve and approached the referee to ask if it was fair play. Ruud thought that he was looking down at his grip and that Davidovitch Fokina was thus taking advantage of his inattention.
“Is this fair play?” Can you hear Ruud asking the referee.
See the situation and the complaint at the top of the file.
Neither managed to break in the first set and so it came down to a tie-break. Ruud failed there and lost 4-7 to the Spaniard, ranked 37th in the world.
He therefore depended on his victory in the second set to hope to progress. And it started off very promisingly as it moved to 2-1. Shortly after, the Norwegian had to take a medical time out. It appeared that the problem was in the lower back.
– It’s just a “tight” back, nothing worse than that. Nothing scary or anything that scares me, but it was good to put some order into things, Ruud said.
Ruud became popular for this maneuver when he advanced from the 2nd round.
At 3-2 in the second set, the match was stopped for just under two hours due to rain.
After the break, they both broke once. Ruud thus served in the second set and ensured that it was a decisive third set.
It started very well for Ruud, who occupies 5th place in the world rankings. He broke immediately and held to serve for the win, but was then broken.
Fokina won the deciding tie-break. The Spaniard meets Mackenzie McDonald in the quarter-finals.
