Casper Ruud claimed third place at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship. The Norwegian defeated world no. 1 Carlos Alcaraz 6-1, 6-4 in 70 minutes for his first victory at this competition. Alcaraz competed for the first time since the Paris Masters and could not find the rhythm on the fast court, experiencing tough losses to Andrey Rublev and Casper Ruud.
The Norwegian defended five out of six break points and grabbed half of the return points to deliver four breaks from six chances. Alcaraz served at 74%, but nothing worked in his game. He was unable to impose his strokes and dictate the pace.
Casper grabbed the encounter’s first game at 15 with a service winner. Alcaraz missed a routine forehand in the second game and faced a break point. The Spaniard sprayed a backhand error to lose serve and experience an early setback.
Ruud grabbed the third game with an unreturned serve for a 3-0 lead in no time.
Casper Ruud defeated Carlos Alcaraz in Abu Dhabi.
The Norwegian placed a backhand down the line return winner in the fourth game and created break chances.
He forced the rival’s mistake on the first to deliver his second break and forge a 4-0 advantage. Alcaraz painted a backhand down the line winner in the fifth game to secure a break and get his name on the scoreboard. However, nothing worked for the Spaniard in his games, facing three break points in game six.
Casper converted the second to earn his third break in a row and open a 5-1 advantage. Ruud served for the opener in game seven and seized the third set point with a powerful serve for 6-1 in 26 minutes. The Norwegian played against two break points in the second set’s second game and defended them to level the score at 1-1.
Alcaraz came from 30-0 down in the third game and grabbed four straight points to close it with a volley winner. Ruud served well in game four and clinched it at love for 2-2. The Spaniard moved 3-2 in front with an ace in game five and created more opportunities in the next one following a forehand down the line winner.
Casper denied three break points and held for 3-3. Carlos won the seventh game with a stop volley at the net, and Casper secured the next one at 30 to follow the rival’s pace. The Spaniard sprayed a backhand error in the ninth game to lose serve at 15 and propel the Norwegian closer to the finish line.
Ruud served for the victory at 5-4 and earned three match points with a service winner. Casper fired another booming serve on the first to seal the deal and secure third place.
