Barcelona Open: Casper Ruud and Holger Rune Reach Quarter-Finals
The Barcelona Open has reached the quarter-final stage, with defending champion Casper Ruud leading the charge. The Norwegian, ranked 10th in the world, overcame Hamad Medjedovic 7-5, 7-5 on Wednesday to book his place in the last eight. According to Flashscore, Ruud’s victory was a hard-fought one, with the 26-year-old conceding a break in the first game of the first set but pulling level at 4-4 with one of his own.
Ruud’s experience ultimately told as he survived four break points for a 6-5 lead and then converted his third set point to take the first set. The second set was just as closely contested, with Ruud once again coming from a break down to triumph, breaking to love against Medjedovic to wrap up his win. As noted by Flashscore, Ruud is a three-time Grand Slam runner-up and will be looking to make a deep run in the tournament.
In other news, third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas also reached the quarter-finals with a 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 win over American Sebastian Korda. Flashscore reports that Tsitsipas came up against spirited opposition, with both players strong on their serve, but did not concede a break point in his straight sets win. The Greek will face Frenchman Arthur Fils, who breezed past Spain’s Pedro Martinez in straight sets 6-3, 6-2.
Tsitsipas was full of praise for his opponent, saying, "I think (Fils) is a great competitor, I’ve played him twice and had no luck," as quoted by Flashscore. "I’m going to change a few things compared to those two matches." Fils, ranked 14th in the world, conceded just one break point in the match, which the 20-year-old saved.
Meanwhile, Holger Rune battled back from a set down to beat Sebastian Baez 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. Flashscore reports that the world number 13 pulled out of Monte Carlo with food poisoning last week but roared back to defeat his Argentine opponent in three sets on the clay after a troubled opening. Baez broke in the first game, consolidating for a 2-0 advantage and served it out to claim the first set, with Rune committing 15 unforced errors to 10 winners.
However, Rune broke three times in the second set to get back on track and did the same again in the decider, converting his third match point to seal the win. As reported by Flashscore, Rune’s victory sets up a quarter-final clash with either Casper Ruud or Lorenzo Sonego. On Thursday, world number two Carlos Alcaraz will face Laslo Djere in another second round match, with the Spanish home favourite aiming for his third Barcelona Open title.
