Norwegian world number 6 tennis player Casper Ruud was defeated in the fourth round of the Madrid Masters tournament on clay (Spain). On April 30, he lost in two sets to Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, former world number 6 and current world number 35, with a score of 6:4, 7:5. The players remained on the court for 1 hour and 59 minutes.
The Canadian tennis player converted three of his eight break points, committed four double faults and served three aces. The Norwegian did not commit a double fault, served six aces and converted one of the three break points he obtained.
Interestingly, Auger-Aliassime won four straight matches for the first time since October and also recorded his first win against a top-10 player this season.
In the quarter-finals of the Madrid Masters (Spain), Félix Auger-Aliassime will face the Italian Jannik Sinner, world number 2, who had previously beaten the Russian Karen Khachanov.
Ruud, one of the rising stars of the ATP Tour, was disappointed with the loss but acknowledged Auger-Aliassime's solid performance. "Felix played a very solid match. He deserved the win, and I congratulate him for that. I'll have to go back and analyse where I can improve for the next time we play each other," Ruud said.
For Auger-Aliassime, the win over Ruud represents a major career breakthrough. The 22-year-old Canadian has long been touted as a future Grand Slam champion, but he has struggled to perform consistently at the highest level. But this win over a top-10 player on clay could be a turning point.
“I’m really proud of how I handled the match today. Casper is an incredible player, especially on this surface, so coming out on top is a huge confidence boost for me,” said Auger-Aliassime. “I’ve been working hard to improve my game, and it’s great to see that work pay off against a player of Casper’s calibre.”
The Auger-Aliassime-Ruud duel is likely to be repeated many times in the coming years, as both players are poised to be among the dominant forces in men’s tennis for the foreseeable future. Their meeting in Madrid was a tantalizing preview of the potential rivalries that could develop on the ATP Tour in the near future.
As the clay court season continues, Auger-Aliassime and Ruud will look to build on their momentum in Madrid and aim for success at Roland-Français and other major clay court tournaments.
