Resurgent Ruud claims career title No 10 at Estoril

Clay was the perfect tonic to kickstart Casper Ruud’s 2023 this season. Entering the draw at Estoril with a disappointing 5-6 overall record and not even a single quarter-final to his name this season, the Norwegian flipped the script on his season and emerged with a title in Estoril.

Ruud, the top seed, defeated Serb Miomir Kecmanovic, the No 6 seed, 6-2, 7-6 (3) to win the Portuguese Open final at Clube de Ténis do Estoril on Sunday.

“It’s my first time in Estoril and first time lucky, I guess,” Ruud said after claiming his ninth clay-court title, and tenth overall. “To be here with the trophy this Sunday is very special. It’s been quite some months since I won my last title, so it’s very important.”

Ruud lost his first set of the tournament against Portugal’s Joao Sousa, but kept his wits about him as he ran the table on his Estoril debut. He improves his lifetime record on clay to 103-37 with his four wins, and becomes the highest-ranked player in tournament history.

Kecmanovic entered the final with a 2-0 tour-level record against Ruud on tour. He was bidding for his second ATP title.

Ahead of his victory, Ruud, ranked No 5, beat Portuguese wildcard João Sousa (4-6, 6-2, 6-2), Argentinian Sebastian Baez, the No 5 seed (6-3, 6-0) and Frenchman Quentin Halys (6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (2)).

Kecmanovic, ranked No 40, defeated Italian Luca Nardi (6-4, 6-1), Austrian Jurij Rodionov (6-0, 6-1), Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles (7-5, 6-2) and Italian Marco Cecchinato (6-3, 6-1) in the previous rounds of the Estoril Open.

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