Casper Ruud continues doing what Nick Kyrgios called him out on doing years ago - being dominant on ATP 250s as he'll play another final.
Casper Ruud and Nick Kyrgios contested a very heated match at the Rome Masters a few years ago. Kyrgios was very unhappy about playing on clay and he threw a temper tantrum on the court getting himself disqualified which Casper Ruud celebrated.
Some didn't appreciate it including Kyrgios who called out Ruud for that but Norwegian simply responded that he celebrated Kyrgios being an idiot and essentially handing him money by sending him through the next round.
The feud calmed down a lot since then as Ruud proved more than just a clay specialist who collects ATP 250s trophies while Kyrgios became much more respectable towards his rivals, kinda. In any case, Ruud is back to another ATP 250s final on clay after beating Lorenzo Musetti in the Bastad Open semi-final.
Ruud won this event in the past and he'll be looking to make it two after crashing out early at Wimbledon. The Norwegian hasn't had a particularly consistent year though he caught up as the clay season unfolded. Today's performance was another Ruud-like because he was pretty solid albeit not special.
Musetti is a very strong player on clay and you don't beat him easily on the surface but Ruud made it look rather painless. The opening set saw the Norwegian dominate the rallies, especially with his forehand which is a major weapon on clay.
Musetti responded far better in the second set holding on for a long time but eventually Ruud broke at 5-5 to take a 6-5 lead and then finish it off 7-5. A pretty solid win for Ruud who continued playing well in Sweden. He now awaits the winner of Rublev against defending champion Francisco Cerundolo.
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