Casper Ruud shocks Carlos Alcaraz with straight-sets victory in ATP Finals opener

Ruud upset Alcaraz 6-1, 7-5 in the round robin stage in Turin, with the 21-year-old Spaniard delivering an erratic and out of sorts display.

The Norwegian entered the ATP Finals in terrible form having lost seven of his previous eight matches, but he made a strong start to this contest.

The three-time Grand Slam finalist surged to win the first set after breaking twice and saving all five break points he faced.

Alcaraz responded by building a 5-2 second set lead, but the world No 3 failed to close it out and lost five straight games to collapse to his first-ever defeat to Ruud.

Ruud, who had a 0-4 record against Alcaraz prior to the match, showed impressive resilience to hold firm at the end given his recent struggles.

Alcaraz had raised concerns about his health ahead of the event after wearing a nose strip during a practice session.

Ruud revealed he had been aware Alcaraz was suffering from a cold and discussed the challenge of having this knowledge about an opponent.

"I kind of knew he was maybe dealing with a bit of a cold. I saw him sniffling around in the area here, always with a tissue for his nose," the world No 7 explained in an on-court interview.

"That's a sign that maybe physically he won't be necessarily at 100%. Of course that's sad and not good for him. But it's also part of the game.

"I knew it coming in. I tried to make him play rallies and do my best. It's not easy. When you know someone isn't 100%, you get stressed. You think 'Oh, this is a really big chance for me to win.'

"I tried to stay in my world, the moment. Luckily, I got a good start. Second set, I was able to turn it around and play some good tennis at the end."

The 25-year-old added: "I don't know what I expected. I just wanted to play a good match. I tried my best from the first to the last point.

"Everyone knows how fantastic Carlos is as a player and a person. I never beat him before. So I'm very happy to beat him at least one time.

"I had good times in Turin before. It feels amazing to be back here. Italian fans are always amazing. They always do a great job.

"I feel very welcome and very good here. The last part of the season wasn't very good for me. But I try to think I saved some wins for this week."

Ruud also labelled the victory one of his best of the 2024 season.

"It's only one match but it's one of the best wins of the season in terms of who I am playing and his ranking," he declared.

"I feel really happy of course I think we have seen Carlos play better tennis but I took care of my chances.

"I haven't been boosting with confidence in the last few months so it's a great win for me and I would like to get some more wins in Turin.

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