Toronto Masters: Ruud claws his way back to Lehecka and reach last 16

Norwegian Casper Ruud, the No 3 seed, advanced to the last 16 of the Toronto Masters by winning against Jiri Lehecka 7-6 (6), 6-4 at the Aviva Centre on Tuesday.

Ruud fought back form a 4-0 deficit in the first set tiebreaker and also saved two setpoints while trailing 6-4 in it before coming back to win the tiebreaker 8-6. A break of serve in the seventh game of the second set helped him close out the win in one hour and 44 minutes.

Number 3 seed into R3 😏@CasperRuud98 saves a couple of set points in set 1 to get by Lehecka 7-6 6-4!#NBO23 pic.twitter.com/1VTQe5hAsE

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 9, 2023

I said, ‘I’m just going to somehow get my claws and keep holding onto this score’.

Casper Ruud

The 24-year-old is looking to reach his first ATP Masters Series final in 2023, improving to 8-5 at this level, with a semi-final in Rome being his best showing thus far.

“I was down 0/4 in that tie-break and I said, ‘I’m just going to somehow get my claws and keep holding onto this score’. Luckily I got two mini-breaks back and then saved a couple set points. It’s sometimes just about luck, margins being on your side and luckily today they were on my side when I really needed it,” Ruud said after the win.

“Towards the end of the second set, I was starting to feel better. I was hitting cleaner and serving much better. First set and second set, a little bit of a difference but I’m happy with the way I progressed through the match.”

Ruud, ranked No 5 in the world, will face the winner of the match between German Alexander Zverev, the No 13 seed, and Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina next.

In the previous round of the Rogers Cup, Lehecka, ranked No 36, edged out American Brandon Nakashima (7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (2)). With the loss, the Czech is now 1-6 lifetime against top 5 opponents.

Toronto Masters, other second-round matches (Aviva Centre, hard, USD 6,600,000):

• Marcos Giron vs. Holger Rune
• Carlos Alcaraz vs. Ben Shelton
• Sebastian Korda vs. Aleksandar Vukic
• Tommy Paul vs. Francisco Cerundolo
• Max Purcell vs. Andy Murray
• Matteo Berrettini vs. Jannik Sinner
• Gabriel Diallo vs. Alex De Minaur
• Alexander Zverev vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
• Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Gael Monfils
• Matteo Arnaldi vs. Daniil Medvedev
• Lorenzo Musetti vs. Thanasi Kokkinakis
• Taro Daniel vs. Milos Raonic
• Miomir Kecmanovic vs. Hubert Hurkacz
• Taylor Fritz vs. Ugo Humbert
• Andrey Rublev vs. Mackenzie McDonald

You might also like this

‘I have to try to improve’ – Ruud biggest shock elimination so far as home hope Broady makes third round

tennis majors

“Djokovic is playing for his 23rd – I’m playing for my first!” Why Casper Ruud wants to enjoy the Roland-Garros occasion

tennis majors

With Wimbledon trophy in his living room for motivation, Alcaraz arrives in Toronto after crazy year

tennis majors

Ljubicic on Sinner: “He’s a thinker. He’s going to make slow moves up there, to the top”

tennis majors