Casper Ruud is out of a hard court ATP Masters 1000 early once again as qualifier Max Purcell beat him in three sets.
Ruud has not been playing good tennis lately, losing a couple of matches he should have won. It's not ideal for the Norwegian who went to the US Open final last year. Last week's defeat to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina was defendable, but this one is not.
Purcell is a qualifier at the 2023 Cincinnati Masters, and while the Australian is a solid player, he shouldn't be beating players on the level of Ruud. Like in Toronto, Purcell demonstrated a very aggressive playstyle accompanied by his precise and powerful serve.
He's pretty solid when he can take the initiative, and today's conditions allowed him to play his preferred style. The opening set saw him hit 14 winners on top of 7 aces to win it 6-4. Ruud wasn't terrible, but he didn't play the crucial rallies better, missing out on two break points while Purcell converted his.
The second set saw the Norwegian battle back in fabulous fashion as he played much better while Purcell struggled with his serve. The Australian depends on it heavily, and it's why he posted only nine winners and nine unforced errors in a losing effort.
Ruud was able to pressure him early in the rallies, and the Aussie couldn't deal. Things were quite different in the final set. Purcell didn't serve consistently, but he found it when he needed to. He was spectacular from the baseline hitting 15 winners and committing only four unforced errors, which was hard to counter.
Ruud was pretty strong with 13 winners and only one unforced error but simply not strong enough. The final score was 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 for Purcell, who is marching towards the Top 50. He'll face either Stan Wawrinka or Frances Tiafoe next.
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