One of the best players in the world, Casper Ruud, is out of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships after losing to Fabio Fognini in the second round.
Ruud and grass tennis don't go together because the Norwegian famously admitted a few years ago that grass is good for golf and not for tennis. He's been more receptive to grass tennis since then but far from a good player on the surface due to simply not playing that much on it.
His best result at the event is the second round, which he made a couple of times, including this year. His first match at SW19 this year was a solid win over Alex Bolt, a capable grass player, so it seemed like the Norwegian was turning the page.
He didn't play any preparation events for Wimbledon, but that's fairly typical of him. Another now typical thing for him is losing early at the event, as he lost to Fognini, who has been playing some vintage tennis at the tournament.
He won comfortably in the previous round and continued his good play also against the Norwegian. Ruud didn't play a bad match, but Fognini was just amazing.
He was hitting incredibly well, especially on a surface where Ruud doesn't really know how to approach tennis because he can't do it the usual way. The Italian slightly outplayed his opponent in the opening set, winning it 6-4, which was crucial.
Winning that set gave him even more confidence to really go for it, which followed in the other sets. Ruud didn't serve that well in the opening set, and that hurt him quite a bit.
The Norwegian played much better in the second set, but still not good enough, as Fognini was playing really strong tennis again, hitting 19 winners.
The third set was pretty bizarre, as Fognini took a 5-2 lead and served to close the match out. Then Ruud, out of nowhere, found a lifeline, winning a couple of games in a row and forcing a tie-break.
He won that tie-break but ultimately failed to replicate the same level in the fourth set, as Fognini won the match 6-4, 7-5, 6-7(1), 6-3 to take care of another Ruud's early loss at SW19.
| Casper Ruud | 4-6, 5-7, 7-6(1), 3-6 | Fabio Fognini |
| 15 | Aces | 8 |
| 2 | Double Faults | 10 |
| 60% | First Serve % | 60% |
| 72% (58/81) | Points Won After First Serve % | 73% (70/96) |
| 55% (29/53) | Points Won After Second Serve % | 56% (35/63) |
| 15% (2/13) | Break Point Conversion | 63% (5/8) |
| 48 | Winners | 50 |
| 46 | Unforced Errors | 48 |