Casper Ruud continued his Bastad Open run by booking the semi-final of the event with a win over Sebastian Ofner.
Ofner has been a pretty solid player for a while now though the Austrian generally played on the Challenger Tour. A recent impressive run at Roland Garros gave him a chance to contest some regular ATP tennis and he's been doing well.
A quarter-final appearance in Bastad is a pretty solid result for him but he couldn't move past former champion, Casper Ruud. The Norwegian triumphed here in 2021 and he's hoping to win his 11th career trophy this time around.
So far it's going good as he's now two matches away from that with a spot in the semi-final following this win. Wimbledon was an expected early exit from Ruud but he's back to winning on his preferred clay and this one was a rather simple one.
The first set lasted 9 games in total as neither player imposed his will entirely during the rallies. Both players had chances to break the other but it was only Ruud who actually did it. Ofner left four break points on the table while Ruud used one of the four he had.
Those small details are what makes all the difference in these close matches and Ruud used his experience to get it done. Learning to win matches where you're not as dominant is crucial for any top players because sometimes you're going to be outplayed. The second set featured 10 games as Ruud once again did just enough to win the match.
He read the match a lot better which is why he didn't allow a single break point even if he struggled with his serve. He did enough on return to book the semi-final and keep the hopes of getting some of that prize money as well as the trophy in Bastad.
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