(Dominic Stricker – Casper Ruud 6–4, 3–6, 7–6) Young Dominic Stricker (21) frustrated Casper Ruud (24) with his dream tennis and knocked the Norwegian out of the ATP 500 tournament in Basel.
Stricker, ranked 96th in the world, kept the Norwegian tennis star going through three sets several times. The Swiss did it with a crazy serve and powerful forehand.
Ruud was clearly frustrated in the first set and couldn’t find a rhythm with his own serve.
– Good presentation. “Very good serve,” exclaimed Ruud ironically in the opening set, which he also lost.
As the host’s hope, Stricker occasionally plays brilliant tennis in the hometown of legend Roger Federer. The 21 year old tennis player escaped in the first set. Ruud fought back and took the second set, before it was all decided by a decisive tiebreak in the third.
- The ATP 500 Swiss Indoors tournament is broadcast on Discovery+ and Eurosport.
Stricker has the upper hand there. The Swiss player swept Ruud off the field 7-1. Thus, the Norwegian was eliminated in the second round of the ATP 500 tournament.
– What a tiebreaker and what a match he gave at home. He serves like a horse kick, comments Svein-Espen Lindås Olsen on Discovery+.
OPPONENT: Switzerland’s Dominic Stricker wins against Casper Ruud at home in Basel.
The Swiss youngster sat out the first half of the match and received medical treatment. Stricker lost his right knee – and is ready to return. And he didn’t just move on. After the break, the 21 year old player took the initiative and broke serve first in the opening set.
The left-hander played hard and heavy in the first set and pushed Ruud backwards on the court, while at the same time struggling with his own serve.
Stricker was relentless, serving out the opening set 6–4.
Chart: www.sofascore.com
Host hope Switzerland continued its cannonball service in the second set, but was unable to capitalize on four break points. So Ruud will break it first.
The Norwegian went 5–3 up, served out the set and equalized. This brought clarity to the third and decisive set in Basek, where Stricker was ahead in the tiebreak.
OUT: Casper Ruud crashed out of the ATP 500 tournament in Basel.
The 21-year-old Stricker, who stunned world number seven Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round of this season’s US Open, registered the second top-10 win of his senior career.
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