Cricket
French Open 2024: Casper Ruud eases past Felipe Alves into second round
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Two-time French Open finalist Casper Ruud smoothly advanced to the second round of the French Open after defeating Brazilian qualifier Felipe Alves 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 in the men’s singles opening round. Ruud, a runner-up at the French Open for the past two years, demonstrated his clay-court prowess, dominating the match against Alves from the start. His powerful groundstrokes and strategic play kept the Brazilian at bay, securing a straight-sets victory and further cementing his reputation as a formidable contender in this year’s tournament.
“This is one of the biggest tournaments for me and for everyone every year. One of my highlights,” Ruud said. “I’m always looking forward to it. The last two years have given me so much here in Paris. I hope I can make it another good year.” “I think it’s been a good clay season for me. Madrid and Rome could’ve gone a bit better. It wasn’t what I hoped for. But other results went well. All in all I’m happy.”
Fresh from his win in Geneva last week, world number seven and three-time Grand Slam finalist Casper Ruud looked confident on the Paris clay. He served close to 90% first serves, speeding past the Brazilian in under two hours.
Ruud will face either Monaco’s Valentin Vacherot or Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the second round. A losing finalist in the previous two editions of the French Open, Ruud earned three break points at 3-2 and more during the Brazilian’s next service game. He finally secured a break on his seventh opportunity to go up 5-3 and take the first set.
Alves matched Ruud’s power game for about an hour, but gradually, the mistakes piled up. Ruud did not give a single break point away in the entire second set. Another early break in the third set put Ruud firmly in control, and the 25-year-old sealed his 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 win in just under two hours.
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