Fans got a glimpse of the future on Monday at the SkiStar Swedish Open when #NextGenATP wild cards collided. And after two thrilling sets, Norwegian Casper Ruud pulled away to defeat Spaniard Jaume Munar 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-0 after two hours, 38 minutes.
The youngest player in the field at 19 years old, Ruud saved six of seven break points to earn his seventh tour-level victory of the season. Ruud can face three-time Bastad champion David Ferrer in the second round, should the Spaniard oust qualifier Zdenek Kolar in his opener. World No. 147 Ruud will try to reach his second ATP World Tour quarter-final, after making the semi-finals in Rio de Janeiro last year.
In the only other singles main draw match of the day, Italian Matteo Berrettini upset No. 6 seed Leonardo Mayer 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in two hours, seven minutes in the pair’s first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting.
The 22-year-old Berrettini is at a career-best No. 75 in the ATP Rankings, having won his first six tour-level matches this season. He has also reached two ATP Challenger Tour finals in 2018, triumphing in Bergamo, Italy. He will next play Portugal’s Gastao Elias or Argentine qualifier Juan Ignacio Londero.
Top Two Doubles Seeds Advance
The top two seeds in the Bastad doubles draw were tested on Monday, but both teams pulled through Match Tie-breaks. No. 1 seeds Max Mirnyi and Philipp Oswald, who captured titles in New York and Houston earlier in the season, beat Roberto Carballes Baena and Federico Delbonis 6-3, 1-6, 10-8. Second seeds Julio Peralta and Horacio Zeballos advanced past Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen 4-6, 6-3, 10-7.
Did You Know?
Ruud’s father, Christian, reached the final in Bastad in 1995, losing in his lone ATP World Tour championship match against Fernando Meligeni.
Source: ATP World Tour
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