Casper Ruud had a very difficult start to the 2023 season and he'll want get back to winning ways on clay.
Clay courts are the most successful surface for the Norwegian, who won eight of his nine titles on the red dirt. After losing six of the first eleven matches that he played in 2023, Ruud wanted to start winning again at the Estoril Open in Portugal.
Seeded first at this ATP 250 tournament, he was drawn against home wild card Joao Sousa in the second round, as the Portuguese player defeated Giulio Zeppieri in the first round. The two met three times before, with Ruud winning all the matches.
The Portuguese player wanted to use the support of the home crowd to his advantage, while the world no. 5 wanted to build his confidence by displaying his clay-court qualities. But Sousa started much better in the first set.
He broke his opponent's serve and never looked back. After stealing Ruud's serve in the fifth game, Sousa won all of his remaining service games without losing more than one point in each of the games to win the first set 6-4.
But Ruud wasn't giving up. He was the better player in long games in the second set, and after breaking his opponent twice, the Norwegian forced a third set, winning the second 6-2.
He continued with the same kind of performance also in the decider and built a quick lead. After two hours and 15 minutes, Ruud won the match 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 and advanced to the 2023 Estoril Open quarterfinals against the fifth-seeded Sebastian Baez who is the defending champion.
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