Swiss Open: Casper Rudd begins title defence with a straight-set victory in Gstaad
Defending champion Casper Rudd of Norway won against Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-4 in the second round of EFG Swiss Open Gstaad at St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland
Casper RuddNo. 1 seed Casper Rudd dropped just one set throughout the tournament to win the trophy at the Swiss Open last year. He carried on with his strong performance at the clay court in Gstaad by saving five break points to secure his victory after one hour and 39 minutes of play.
World No. 5 Casper Rudd suffered a disappointing first-round exit against Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina at Bastad Open the previous week. The 23-year-old Norwegian served four aces, committed one double fault, won 79% of the points on the first serve and broke the serve of his Czechian opponent two times. In contrast, Jiri Lehecka served three aces, committed six double faults, won 65% of the points on the first serve and failed to break the service of Casper Rudd even once.
In an on-court interview, Casper Rudd said, “I think it was a great match. The conditions are quite challenging here with the altitude and the ball can fly. You need to serve and return well and I think I did that well all day. I started a little bit shaky and had some break points against me, but I was able to win that game and get going. It is nice to get a win again.”
Casper Rudd is looking to win his third trophy of the season after winning the titles at Buenos Aires and Geneva earlier this year. He will lock horns with Jaume Munar in the quarterfinals of the ATP 250 event. The 25-year-old Spaniard advanced to the quarterfinals after beating Alexander Ritschard of Switzerland 6-3, 6-3.
Dominic Thiem edges past Federico Delbonis
Dominic Thiem of Austria secured a 7-6(8-6), 6-3 victory against Federico Delbonis of Argentina in the second round of the Swiss Open.
Dominic Thiem started the second set aggressively and raced to a quick 5-2 lead in the opening set. However, Federico Delbonis roared back to send the match into a tiebreak. The 28-year-old Austrian calmed his nerves to clinch the opening set 7-6(8-6), following which he eased through the second set 6,3 to secure his victory after one hour and 57 minutes on court.
Dominic Thiem will lock horns with Juan Pablo Varillas of Peru in a quarterfinal clash on July 22.
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