ATP tennis news - Cameron Norrie says Casper Ruud was ‘too good’ after San Diego Open final thrashing

ByRichard Newman

Published 04/10/2021 at 07:44 GMT

Ruud was in a ruthless mood, dispatching the British number two 6-0 6-2 in the final to pick up his first hard court title and fifth trophy of the year - more than any other player on the ATP Tour. There was British success in the doubles, as Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski beat John Peers and Filip Polasek in their final.

British number two Cameron Norrie admitted he was no match for Casper Ruud in the final of the San Diego Open, after he was thumped 6-0 6-2 by the Norwegian - but there was success in the doubles for Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski.

The victory, which was completed in a little over an hour, sealed Ruud’s fifth ATP Tour title of the year - more than any other player - and his first on hard courts, having cleaned up in clay tournaments over the summer.

Ruud will move up to a career high ranking of ninth, in what is easily the best season of his career. He now has more trophies in 2021 than the likes of Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev, but the 22-year-old is not getting carried away by that statistic.

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"It's a fun thing to say it, but obviously Daniil and Novak have bigger titles, so I wouldn't mind switching up with them if I had an opportunity to switch five 250s to three Slams and a 250 Novak has,” said Ruud.

“It's a bit higher level, but that's fine. I think that's more impressive obviously than five 250s, but I will take it.

It would be fun to end the year with the most titles, I cannot lie about that.

'Too good today' - Norrie hails Ruud winning title in San Diego

Norrie had come from a set down to beat Andrey Rublev to seal a place in the final, and the epic manner of that victory may have had an impact heading into the decider, but he had no complaints about who came out on top.

"Big congrats to you, Casper. What a year you're having," Norrie said. "You're the true professional, what an athlete and big congrats to you and your team up there.

“Too good today and nothing I could do. I fought as hard as I could, but well done, and you deserved the win. Well done with the title."

Salisbury and Skupski, who are not regular playing partners, picked up the doubles title with a 7-6 3-6 10-5 win over John Peers and Filip Polasek - hours after Skupski’s brother Ken had won a trophy in Sofia, Bulgaria.

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