Casper Ruud avenged last week's Monte-Carlo Masters final loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas, winning in the 2024 Barcelona Open final.
This is a rivalry that's written some interesting chapters over the past couple of weeks, and with how both enjoy playing on clay, we could see many more chapters in the future.
Last week, fans in Monte Carlo saw Tsitsipas cruise easily past Ruud on a court where the Greek has dominated in the past. This week, fans in Spain saw them battle in Barcelona on a court, which both of them love, but Tsitsipas has had more success on it.
He was the favourite in this match as well, but it was the Norwegian who outplayed his opponent in this match, and quite easily so, in two sets. The first set was close, even though Tsitsipas opened with an early break.
It was the ideal start for the Greek player because all he needed to do was focus on his serve, but he didn't manage to hold for the remainder of the set. Ruud broke back a few games after that, and he started playing better and better.
In the game, after which he won the opening set, Tsitsipas made some really questionable choices. He kept going to the net even though it didn't work that well, and a few passing shots by Ruud sealed the set, winning it 7-5.
In the second set, the Norwegian completely took over the match. Ruud was just totally focused and had a very clear idea of how to approach things, and it worked out well.
Tsitsipas is not a stranger to losing control of a match after dropping the first set, and that's what happened in this match as well. Overall, it was just a solid win for Ruud, who was the better player.
The final score was 7-5, 6-3 for the Norwegian, who finally won an ATP 500 trophy in his career after losing a couple of finals this year. He's having a very good season, and this is the highlight so far.
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