BASTAD: Andrey Rublev grabbed his second tour-level crown of the season as he overcame top seed Casper Ruud 7-6(3), 6-0 in the Nordea Open final.
The second seed, who lost just one set on the way to winning the title, played Ruud with explosive force, hitting the ball crisply from both wings in a match that lasted one hour and 33 minutes.
The 25-year-old raised his arms in joy after securing victory on his first match point, winning 80% (36/45) of his first-serve points.
“It is always great to win a title. At the end of the day, we have to lose almost every week, so this is one of two titles this year. It is a special feeling and the final was played in tough conditions, but I was lucky to have them,” ATP.com quoted Rublev as saying.
“Casper hits with spin a lot, to play high and with this weather the ball did not really jump high and I think it helped me a bit. On top of that I played really well today,” Rublev added.
Rublev increased his lead over Ruud in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series to 5-2 with his 18th tour-level clay court victory of the year. Now, Rublev has prevailed in all four of the duo’s encounters on clay courts.
After winning the tournament, Rublev moved up three spots to fourth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race to Turin. At the end of the season, he plans to compete in the Nitto ATP Finals for the fourth time.
Rublev won the largest trophy of his career earlier this year when he prevailed in the ATP Masters 1000 competition in Monte Carlo. He now holds 14 tour-level victories.
Ruud was chasing his 11th tour-level trophy and second in Bastad, having won the title in 2021. (ANI)