Top-seeded Casper Ruud of Norway won his first title of the season, and 10th of his career, with a 6-2, 7-6 (3) defeat of Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia at the Millennium Estoril Open in Portugal on Sunday.
Ruud delivered three aces, won 83 percent of the points on his first serve and saved all three break points he faced. Kecmanovic wasn’t as sharp on his serve, winning 74 percent of his first serves and only 40 percent on his second. Ruud capitalized on two of his eight break chances.
The players stayed on serve in the second set, forcing a tiebreak. But Kecmanovic, the sixth seed, lost serve three times, leaving Ruud with three match points when he served for the win at 6-3.
Nine of Ruud’s titles have come on clay. He will move up one spot to No. 4 when the ATP rankings are released on Monday.
Grand Prix Hassan II
Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain won his first tournament in five years, defeating Alexandre Muller of France in three sets in Marrakech, Morocco.
Carballes Baena dropped the first set but fought back to win 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2 in a match that lasted just short of three hours. Both players were unseeded.
Muller struck eight aces, but they were negated by five double faults and three service breaks in a match that wound up separated by just four total points.
The 30-year-old Spaniard’s only previous title came at the Ecuador Open in February 2018. Muller was seeking his first championship.
U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship
Frances Tiafoe didn’t mind work double duty to emerge as champion in Houston.
The top-seeded U.S. player edged eighth-seeded Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina 7-6 (1), 7-6 (6) in the championship match after both players won their semifinal matches earlier in the semifinals.
The four semifinals also had two win twice apiece on Saturday to move on in the rain-delayed tournament.
The final featured just two total service breaks, one by Tiafoe when Etcheverry was serving for the second set at 5-4. Etcheverry then led 3-1 and 5-3 in the second-set tiebreaker but couldn’t close it out.
Earlier in the day, Etcheverry downed German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann 6-3, 6-4 and Tiafoe got past Gijs Brouwer of the Netherlands 6-4, 6-1.
Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters
Tenth-seeded Hubert Hurkacz of Poland went the distance to edge Serbia’s Laslo Djere 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) in the first round at Monte Carlo, Monaco.
The match lasted 3 hours, 18 minutes and featured four service breaks per player. In the end, Hurkacz prevailed thanks to superior serving. He had a 14-2 edge in aces when Djere finished with 10 double faults to Hurkacz’s five.
In other opening-round action, Chile’s Nicolas Jarry upset 15th-seeded Borna Coric of Croatia 6-2, 6-3, and Spain’s Jaume Munar defeated Switzerland’s Marc-Andrea Huesler 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-4.
–Field Level Media
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