Casper Ruud beats Miomir Kecmanovic to claim Estoril Open title, ending nine-month winless run for world No. 5
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Updated 09/04/2023 at 21:58 GMT
After a stellar 2022, Casper Ruud's follow-up season has been a little more down to earth, but it belatedly took flight on Sunday in Portugal when he beat Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic in the final of the Estoril Open. The straight-sets victory, in which the Dane failed to drop serve once, puts an emphatic end to a nine-month wait for a title for the world No. 5.
Watch Highlights as Ruud beats Kecmanovic in Estoril Open final
Norwegian player Casper Ruud has won his 10th ATP Tour title by defeating Miomir Kecmanovic at the Estoril Open in Portugal.
The victory marks Ruud's first trophy of the season and his first since winning the 2022 Gstaad Open last July.
Ruud won the championship in straight sets, 6-2 7-6(3), breaking Kecmanovic's serve twice in the first set to take full control of the match.
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Watch Highlights as Ruud beats Kecmanovic in Estoril Open final
Kecmanovic lifted his level early in the second set, and the Serbian earned three break points.
Unfortunately for him, he failed to convert any of them and the set went to a tie-break which Ruud won comfortably.
The championship point was, appropriately for a match dominated by Ruud, a forehand winner.
In the aftermath of the defeat, Kecmanovic expressed his disappointment.
He said: "I had some opportunities in the second set, if I had used them, who knows..."
The victory comes after a disappointing start to the season, with Ruud arriving in Portugal with a 5-6 record for 2023.
Ruud was delighted with the victory.
Speaking on the court afterwards, he said: "I feel great. It’s my first time in Estoril and first time lucky, I guess. To be here with the trophy this Sunday is very special. It’s been quite some months since I won my last title, so it’s very important.”
He continued: "I felt great. All my stay was great [with the] fans, great stadium, great atmosphere on this court. It was full every time that I was on the court it was a full stadium so thank you to everyone who is here today and also during the week.”
This is the ninth of Ruud's 10 career titles to have come on clay.
The win will see Ruud move up from No. 5 to No. 4 in the world rankings.
He heads next to the Monte Carlo Masters, where he is the fourth seed and has a first-round bye. He will face either qualifier Marton Fucsovics or Botic van de Zandschulp in his opening match.
In Marrakesh, Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena beat France's Alexandre Muller 4-6 7-6(3) 6-2 in a three-hour showdown.
It was a first title for Carballes Baena since Quito in 2018 and made it two wins from two in ATP Finals.
Basking in the afterglow, Carballes Baena said: “I am so tired, but I am very, very happy. It was a very, very tough match. I tried to fight every point. I don’t know what to say. I am so happy.”
In Bogota, Germany's Tatjana Maria won her second WTA Copa Colsanitas title in succession, defeating American Peyton Stearns 6–3 2–6 6–4.
The 35-year-old has won two of her three career titles in the Colombian capital.
Maria successfully defended her Bogota Open title, beating first-time finalist Stearns in over two hours. Maria is only the second player this season to defend a singles title, the other being world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in Doha. Maria is the fourth woman to win multiple Bogota titles and has won 12 consecutive matches in Bogota over the past two seasons.
She and Fabiola Zuluaga are the only players to win consecutive Bogota titles.
Tunisian world No. 5 Ons Jabeur, won the Charleston WTA 500 event on Sunday evening, defeating Swiss Belinda Bencic in the final 7-6 (6), 6-4. Jabeur recovered after being broken early in the first set and trailing 5-3, eventually forcing a tie-break where she saved two set points and won 8-6.
Jabeur then won the second set 6-4 and the match in two hours and one minute, claiming her fourth WTA title in her 11th final. Jabeur had been absent from the circuit in February for a minor operation and suffered early defeats at the WTA 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami.
Bencic was full of praise for Jabeur after the match.
"Your performance today was incredible," Bencic said. "You truly deserve it. I'm very happy you're back. Tennis is great with you."
Jabeur replied: "You are an extraordinary competitor and friend, (I am) so happy to share the court with you."
She also couldn't help but remind her beaten opponent with a smile that they both now have "a big trophy and a small trophy", referring to the winner and runner-up trophies.
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