Casper Ruud will be playing in the semifinals of the 2023 Ultimate Tennis Showdown Grand Final in London after beating Diego Schwartzman.
Andrey "Rublo" Rublev was the first player to secure his spot in the Final Four of the UTS Grand Final, and on Saturday, Jack "The Power" Draper followed him into the semifinals.
After the Brit bested Gael "La Monf" Monfils, who was forced to retire mid-third quarter, Casper "The Ice Man" Ruud and Diego "El Peque" Schwartzman fought for the last semifinal spot left in Group A.
The Norwegian had a better start into the match, as he didn't allow his opponent to do much in the first quarter, winning it convincingly 16-10, establishing dominance early in the match.
However, the Argentinian was even more convincing in the second quarter of the match. Schwartzman was better than the former world no. 2 on the ATP Tour, beating him 16-7 and leveling the score of the match.
The third quarter of the match was the closest, and it went to the deciding point, as the eight-minute time limit ran out at 12-12, with the following point deciding the outcome of the third quarter.
Ruud won that point, and the fourth quarter saw another close contest. Both players were very close throughout the quarter, with the "next point counts x3" cards being important in the quarter.
When the Norwegian used his card, Schwartzman made an error on his serve, gifting his opponent easy 3 points, which proved to be the decisive moment as Ruud won the match 16-10, 7-16, 13-12, 17-10.
In the semifinals of the 2023 Ultimate Tennis Showdown Grand Final in London, Ruud will take on home player Jack Draper, who is yet to lose a match at the tournament.
During the night session of the 2023 UTS Grand Final, Holger "The Viking" Rune and Gael "La Monf" Monfils will fight for the last semifinal spot at the tournament.
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