Tennis-Ruud defeats Tsitsipas to win Barcelona Open

Tennis – ATP 500 – Barcelona Open – Real Club de Tenis, Barcelona, Spain – April 21, 2024 Norway’s Casper Ruud poses with the trophy and his family after winning the Barcelona Open in the final match against Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsip REUTERS/Albert Gea

BARCELONA, Spain (Reuters) – Casper Ruud gained sweet revenge over Stefanos Tsitsipas as he beat the Greek fifth seed 7-5 6-3 to win the Barcelona Open on Sunday.

Tennis – ATP 500 – Barcelona Open – Real Club de Tenis, Barcelona, Spain – April 21, 2024 Norway’s Casper Ruud celebrates with the trophy after winning the Barcelona Open in the final match against Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsip REUTERS/Albert Gea TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Just seven days after Tsitsipas thumped Ruud in straight sets to win the Monte Carlo Masters, it was the Danish third seed who came out on top in the latest battle between the two 25-year-olds as he secured a 10th ATP title on clay.

Tennis – ATP 500 – Barcelona Open – Real Club de Tenis, Barcelona, Spain – April 21, 2024 Norway’s Casper Ruud celebrates with the trophy after winning the Barcelona Open in the final match against Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsip REUTERS/Albert Gea

“Honestly, this has been worth the wait,” Ruud said after capturing the biggest title his career, with all his previous triumphs being in ATP 250 tournaments.

After seven failed attempts to win a final above the ATP 250 level, Ruud was relieved to finally get over that hurdle.

“A lot of finals that I’ve lost have been tough, a bit disappointing, of course,” he said.

“Any time you reach a final, it’s nonetheless a good week, so you can’t be too hard on yourself but this one has been a long time coming.”

Tennis – ATP 500 – Barcelona Open – Real Club de Tenis, Barcelona, Spain – April 21, 2024 Norway’s Casper Ruud poses with the Barcelona Open trophy alongside runner-up Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsip REUTERS/Albert Gea

Ruud also halted Tsitsipas’ 10-match winning streak.

“In the final in Monte Carlo I was always on the back foot, too far behind, and he had too much time to control the game,” Ruud said.

“It was a bit of a tricky start (here), I got broken right away. So not the best start, but I managed to settle in and broke him back.”

Tennis – ATP 500 – Barcelona Open – Real Club de Tenis, Barcelona, Spain – April 21, 2024 Norway’s Casper Ruud celebrates after winning the Barcelona Open in the final match against Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsip REUTERS/Albert Gea

(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk, editing by Pritha Sarkar)