Casper Ruud made history Sunday at the Argentina Open, as the 21-year-old became the first player from Norway to win an ATP Tour singles title by defeating lucky loser Pedro Sousa of Portugal, 6-1, 6-4, for the championship.
Ruud, a native of Oslo, was three points from defeat in his semifinal match Saturday against home-country favorite Juan Ignacio Londero but rallied to win 10 of the last 11 games in a remarkable 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 comeback.
In the final, he won nine of his service games without facing a break point, and he broke Sousa's serve three times. At 21 years, one month old, he is now the youngest player to ever win the Buenos Aires title, ahead of Guillermo Coria, who won the title there in 2004 at age 22 years, one month.
Here's more on the 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals qualifier, who moves up 11 spots to a career-high ranking of No. 34 with his championship run last week.
The Casper Ruud File
Age: 21
Birthplace: Oslo, Norway
Residence: Oslo, Norway
Current Rank: 34
Career-High Rank: 34 (Feb. 17, 2020)
Best US Open Finish: First Round (2018, 2019)
The Baseline
- Ruud had only played in one ATP final prior to the Argentina Open, at last year's U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship in Houston, where he finished runner-up to Christian Garin. He was the youngest finalist at the tournament in 18 years, since a 19-year-old Andy Roddick won the title in 2001.
- The 21-year-old kicked off 2020 by scoring the first two Top-20 wins of his career at the inaugural ATP Cup, defeating No. 19-ranked John Isner and No. 12 Fabio Fognini while representing Norway in the international team competition.
- Ruud, who has won more than 64 percent of his tour-level matches on clay (34-19), began training at the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar last July. "The academy has helped me so much with the coaches and everything down there, and also Rafa himself. He’s involved in my tennis and my career, so I owe them a lot of thanks, and I will keep going down there for as long as I can," he told ATPTour.com after winning in Buenos Aires.
- Ruud has a friendly rivalry going with his father, former world No. 39 Christian Rudd, who is also his coach. "Now I’ve beaten his ranking and won an ATP Tour title, something he wasn’t able to do… I beat him in two different ways now, so I think now I don’t need to hear the question anymore, will I beat my father? Now I’ve done it, so I have to try to think even better and that I can reach even further."
- Ruud played multiple sports as a child, including soccer, hockey, golf and tennis—he first picked up a racquet at age 1—before deciding to strictly focus on tennis when he was 11 years old. He became the No. 1 junior player in the world in January 2016, reaching the boys' doubles semifinals with current world No. 50 Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia at 2015 Wimbledon, 2016 Roland Garros and 2016 Wimbledon.
They Said It!
"I don't know. Maybe I will have a Coca-Cola and a good Argentine steak." — Casper Rudd, when asked how he will celebrate winning his first title
