Casper Ruud clinched his 10th career ATP title with a straight-sets victory over Miomir Kecmanovic in Sunday's Estoril Open final, while Roberto Carballes Baena won the Grand Prix Hassan II.

Having enjoyed the best season of his career in 2022, Ruud was bidding for his first trophy success of 2023 in Portugal, and the world number five made a flying start to his clash with Kecmanovic.

Ruud wrapped up the opener in just 36 minutes, taking control with a huge forehand winner to break in just the third game.

The Norwegian navigated two three-set contests in order to reach the showpiece, and it looked like another of his matches may go the distance when Kecmanovic recovered to force a second-set tie-break.

However, a dipping backhand saw Ruud secure the second of two crucial mini breaks, and he took the first of his three championship points to cap a fine week with silverware, sealing a 6-2 7-6 (7-3) win.

Elsewhere, Carballes Baena won just his second career title, triumphing on the clay in Marrakesh where he beat Alexandre Muller 4-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-2.

France's Muller showed no signs of being overawed on his first final outing as he took the opener in impressive fashion, but Carballes Baena edged a tie-break in the second before dominating the decider.

Carballes Baena's triumph – recorded in just under three hours – gave him his first title since the 2018 Ecuador Open, which also came on his favoured clay surface.

Casper Ruud defeated Quentin Halys in a third-set tie-break to reach the final of the Estoril Open, where Miomir Kecmanovic awaits after defeating Marco Cecchinato.

The number one seed, competing in his first semi-final of the season, prevailed 6-4 3-6 7-6 (7-2) in Portugal to move within one match of a 10th singles title.

Ruud broke his opponent's serve in the opening game and saw out the first set, but Halys – competing in his first ATP Tour semi-final – hit back in the second to prolong the match.

Both men held as the contest went the distance, but Ruud's quality told as he raced 3-0 ahead in the deciding tie-break and did not look back as he set up a final with Kecmanovic.

World number 40 Kecmanovic needed a little over an hour to beat sixth seed Cecchinato, who had surprised Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the previous round.

Kecmanovic, aiming to add to his only previous singles success in Kitzbuhel three years ago, held serve throughout to claim a 6-3 6-1 win over the 2018 French Open semi-finalist.

Elsewhere on Saturday, the final seeded player fell at the Grand Prix Hassan II as Dan Evans was defeated 2-6 6-4 6-2 by Roberto Carballes Baena.

Carballes Baena has now eliminated three seeded players and will face Alexandre Muller in Sunday's final after the Frenchman saw off Pavel Kotov in straight sets.

Muller edged a first-set tie-break and proved too strong in the second as he saw out a 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 victory in Marrakesh.

Casper Ruud is through to the final four of the Estoril Open after a routine 6-3 6-0 victory against defending champion Sebastian Baez on Friday.

The number one seed dominated his Argentine opponent from the moment the first set went to 3-3, winning nine-straight games from there to ease to victory.

Ruud did need to save four break points in the second game of the second set, but his ability to hold serve seemed to end any resistance that Baez could muster.

The Norwegian will face Frenchman Quentin Halys in the semi-finals after his own straight-sets triumph over Dominic Thiem

Halys reached his first ever ATP Tour semi after recording a 6-1 6-4 win over the former world number three in just one hour and 19 minutes.

The other semi-final will see Miomir Kecmanovic take on Marco Cecchinato after the latter stunned third seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in straight sets.

The world number 96 claimed a 7-5 7-6 (7-5) victory in the first meeting between the pair to set up a last-four clash with Kecmanovic, who saw off sixth seed Bernabe Zapata Miralles with a comfortable 7-5 6-2 win.

Elsewhere, Dan Evans is the only seed remaining in the Grand Prix Hassan II as he reached the semi-finals by cruising to a 6-3 7-5 triumph over world number 201 Andrea Vavassori in Marrakech.

Evans will face Roberto Carballes Baena next after the Spaniard toppled fourth seed Tallon Griekspoor 6-3 2-6 6-2.

Second seed Lorenzo Musetti was beaten by Alexandre Muller 6-3 1-6 6-4 in a topsy-turvy encounter, and the Frenchman will now face Pavel Kotov in the final four after the Russian defeated Christopher O'Connell in a thriller, 6-3 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-3).

Dominic Thiem continued to impress at the Estoril Open as he reached the quarter-finals, but second seed Hubert Hurkacz is out in Portugal.

The Austrian backed up his first round win against compatriot Sebastian Ofner with a 6-2 6-2 straight sets triumph against American Ben Shelton.

It takes the 2020 US Open winner into the last-eight where he will face Quentin Halys after the Frenchman beat fourth seed Roberto Bautista Agut in a 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 triumph.

There will be no Hurkacz however, after the Pole fell to 6-7 (7-9) 6-4 6-2 loss against the unseeded Bernabe Zapata Miralles.

Elsewhere, top seeds Lorenzo Musetti and Dan Evans are both through to the quarter-finals of the Grand Prix Hassan II.

The pair saw straight sets victories see them through the last-16, with the Italian winning 6-2 6-3 against France's Hugo Gaston and the Briton pulling out a 6-1 6-3 victory against Australia's Alexei Popyrin.

Dominic Thiem claimed his first win since February with victory at the Estoril Open.

The former US Open champion and two-time Roland Garros finalist had gone his previous four ATP Tour-level events without a win.

But Thiem, once ranked as high as third in the world, ended the drought with a 3-6 6-3 6-4 defeat of compatriot Sebastian Ofner.

He will next face American Ben Shelton, who defeated Constant Lestienne 7-5 7-5.

Meanwhile, there were three shocks at the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakesh.

Roberto Carballes Baena came from a set down to beat fifth seed Maxime Cressy, Alexandre Muller overcame sixth seed Richard Gasquet, and qualifier Andrea Vavassori defeated eighth seed Nicolas Jarry.

Hugo Gaston fought back from a set down to beat Jan-Lennard Struff at the Grand Prix Hassan II.

Gaston rallied after dropping serve twice in the opening set, prevailing 3-6 6-4 7-5 to become the first player to book their spot in the last-16.

Jaume Munar followed suit with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Elliot Benchetrit.

Elsewhere, at the Estoril Open, victories for Pedro Cachin and Sebastian Baez set up a potential hat-trick of wins for Argentine players.

Cachin beat Tseng Chun-hsin 6-4 6-4 and Baez overcame Radu Albot 7-5 7-6 (7-3) but seventh seed Diego Schwartzman could not follow up with a win of his own, losing 6-3 7-6 (10-8) to Marco Cecchinato.

Fabio Fognini also booked his spot in the last 16 by beating compatriot Alessandro Giannessi in straight sets.

Sebastian Baez sealed a straight-sets win against Frances Tiafoe in the final of the Estoril Open on Sunday.

The Argentinian put in a powerful performance to ease past the American fifth seed, winning 6-3 6-2 in Portugal in just 74 minutes.

It was a fast start from Tiafoe, breaking Baez in the opening game, before the 21-year-old secured back-to-back breaks of his own in the fourth and sixth games to edge ahead, ultimately taking the first set.

The second set started evenly, but from 2-2, Baez put his foot down, again breaking consecutive Tiafoe service games, before serving out for the title.

The first serve was the difference for Baez, making 64 per cent of his compared to Tiafoe, who managed just 39 per cent.

Baez was also more effective when he needed his second serve, winning 61 per cent of points, with his opponent winning only 39 per cent from his own second serve.

Frances Tiafoe downed fellow American Sebastian Korda in a hard-fought encounter to reach the final of the Estoril Open, while Holger Rune reached a first title match at the BMW Open.

Korda had eliminated top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-finals in Portugal to set up an all-American last-four clash, and looked on course to reach the final after winning the first set against Tiafoe.

However, the fifth seed roared back to seal a 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 victory and set up a final encounter with Argentina's Sebastian Baez, who beat Albert Ramos-Vinolas to reach his second tour-level final.

Baez also needed three sets in his semi-final clash after losing a competitive second-set tie-break, but he then produced a scintillating performance to win the decider without dropping a game, winning 6-3 6-7 (7-9) 6-0.

Elsewhere, Danish 19-year-old Rune sealed his first ATP tour final appearance by beating home favourite Oscar Otte 6-4 6-4 at the BMW Open in Munich.

Rune, who has enjoyed a dream week in Bavaria after sensationally downing Alexander Zverev in the last-16 and failing to drop a single set in the tournament, revealed his ambitions to become world number one in the future after the victory.

"It's a pretty unreal feeling," he said of his semi-final win. "I didn't expect this at all coming into this tournament, and I just took it match by match. Obviously, I had a tough draw, playing Zverev in the second round, but I knew it was going to be tough, so I was ready from the beginning, and I'm super happy to be in the final.

"It's getting better and better, I'm improving every day, and this is what matters. I have some goals to be number one in the world, and you have to start somewhere."

Rune will face eighth seed Botic van de Zandschulp in the final after the Dutchman rallied to beat Miomir Kecmanovic 2-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 in his own final-four encounter. 

Top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime fell to Sebastian Korda in the Estoril Open quarter-finals, while Casper Ruud was sent packing at the BMW Open. 

Auger-Aliassime won just 50 per cent of points behind his first serve as Korda claimed an impressive 6-2 6-2 success over the Canadian in one hour and 29 minutes. 

In the semi-finals Korda will take on fellow American Frances Tiafoe, who edged out Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6 (7-5) 5-7 7-5 in a tight encounter. 

The other last-four clash will see Albert Ramos Vinolas take on Sebastian Baez. 

Ramos Vinolas bested Fernando Verdasco 6-2 6-2 to set up his meeting with Baez after the Argentine rallied from a set down to defeat Richard Gasquet 3-6 6-1 6-4. 

At the BMW Open, second seed Ruud fell to Botic van de Zandschulp in the quarter-finals. 

The Dutchman won their only previous encounter en route to the last eight at last year's US Open and he triumphed 7-5 6-1 in Munich. 

"Maybe the score is easier than it really was," said Van de Zandschulp. "The first set [was] really tight, I think. A great battle in the first one. I had some opportunities to break him in the beginning and didn't take them. Gladly [at] five-all I made the break and held the serve at 6-5. 

"[The] second set was a little bit easier, but I think I played really well today." 

Next up for Van de Zandschulp is Miomir Kecmanovic, who defeated Nikoloz Basilashvili 7-6 (7-5) 6-2. Holger Rune will continue his impressive run against Oscar Otte in the other semi-final after they overcame Emil Ruusuvuori and Alejandro Tabilo respectively. 

Felix Auger-Aliassime survived an early scare to reach the Estoril Open quarter-finals with victory over Carlos Taberner on Thursday.

The top seed is targeting a second title of 2022, having already triumphed in Rotterdam earlier in the campaign.

However, his quest looked in doubt when Taberner dominated the opening set 6-1.

But the world number 10 responded in equally commanding fashion; controlling the next two sets to prevail a 1-6 6-2 6-2 victor.

Auger-Aliassime, who also overcame Taberner in Barcelona last week, will play Sebastian Korda in the last eight after the American beat Benjamin Bonzi 6-3 6-3.

Meanwhile, Santiago finalist Sebastian Baez is through to his third quarter-final of 2022. The world number 59 recovered from a set down to deny third seed Marin Cilic 1-6 6-1 6-4.

Richard Gasquet awaits after the 2015 champion beat Hugo Dellien 7-6 (7-5) 6-2.

Over in Munich, second seed Casper Ruud took a while to find his groove before overcoming Slovakia's Alex Molcan 3-6 6-4 6-4.

Following Alexander Zverev's exit on Wednesday, the Norwegian is the highest remaining seed and is targeting a second title of the season having triumphed in Buenos Aires two months ago.

Next up for him is Botic van de Zandschulp, who won 86 per cent of his points on first serve as he defeated Egor Gerasimov 6-2 6-3.

Meanwhile, Oscar Otte stunned third seed Reilly Opelka 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 to reach his second quarter-final in as many weeks, having also reached that stage in Belgrade.

The German will play Cordoba runner-up Alejandro Tabilo, who advanced following the retirement of opponent Hugo Gaston through injury. 

Alexander Zverev is out of the BMW Open after a shock straight-sets defeat to Holger Rune in the last 16 in Munich.

The world number three and top seed had no answer to an impressive performance from Rune, with the young Dane ultimately easing to a 6-3 6-2 victory on Wednesday.

Rune set the tempo early on, moving Zverev around the court with plenty of drop shots and heading into a 4-2 lead, before saving two break points on his way to clinching the first set.

An early break in the second then seemed to give the 18-year-old the confidence to see out his first career victory against a top 10 opponent.

"It was a difficult match from the beginning," said Rune on-court after the win. "He's in the top three in the world and has been playing some unbelievable tennis, especially in the past year winning so many big titles.

"I have a lot of respect for him, and I obviously didn't expect to win in two sets, and with a score like this. But it was a really hard match, we played a lot of rallies and I'm really happy about my performance today."

Rune will play Emil Ruusuvuori in the quarter-finals after the Finn beat Maxime Cressy 6-3 6-3.

Elsewhere, fourth seed Nikoloz Basilashvili came from behind to overcome Ilya Ivashka 3-6 6-2 6-4, and will face Miomir Kecmanovic in the last eight after the seventh seed beat Daniel Altmaier 6-2 6-4.

There were also three round of 32 matches on Wednesday, with eighth seed Botic van de Zandschulp, Egor Gerasimov and Alejandro Tabilo all through to the last 16 in Munich.

Over at the Estoril Open, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina will play Frances Tiafoe in the quarter-finals after both advanced in Portugal.

Fourth seed Davidovich Fokina beat fellow Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-3 7-6 (7-5) while fifth seed Tiafoe got the better of Nuno Borges 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 6-0.

Fernando Verdasco is also through after a 6-2 6-3 win against Pablo Cuevas, and he will play fellow Spaniard and sixth seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas, who came from a set down against Kwon Soon-woo, 5-7 6-1 6-2.

Dominic Thiem's wait for the first win of his comeback goes on after he lost to Benjamin Bonzi at the Estoril Open.

Thiem was competing in just his second tour-level event of 2022 after suffering a wrist tear last June, having lost to John Millman at the Serbia Open last week. 

The 2020 US Open champion could not find a way through against Bonzi, who did not face a break point in prevailing 6-3 7-6 (11-9).

Bonzi will next face Sebastian Korda, the eighth seed a straight-sets winner over Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

Fifth seed Frances Tiafoe and sixth seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas defeated Dusan Lajovic and Jordan Thompson respectively, but seventh seed Tommy Paul lost to veteran Richard Gasquet.

At the BMW Open in Munich, sixth seed Dan Evans lost in his first match for the fourth time in five tournaments.

The sixth seed was beaten 6-4 6-4 by Maxime Cressy, while there were wins for Hugo Gaston, Ilya Ivashka and Oscar Otte.

Nikoloz Basilashvili won a fifth ATP Tour title as he triumphed at the BMW Open on Sunday.

The Georgian completed an impressive week in Munich by beating Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4 7-6 (7-5) to clinch the trophy without dropping a set in his five matches.

The win continued what has been a solid 2021 for Basilashvili, who won the title in Doha in March after defeating Roger Federer in his second match following his return from injury.

After retiring from his opening match in Monte Carlo last month before losing to Jeremy Chardy in Barcelona, the world number 35 had looked in fine form in Munich before battling to victory against Struff in just under 86 minutes.

"It wasn't easy and I was super-tight at the end," said Basilashvili. "It was very difficult. It's never easy playing Jan, he's a very big fighter and serves really well.

"I am super happy. It seems like German conditions suit me. This is my fifth [ATP Tour] title and it will give me confidence for the upcoming tournaments."

At the Estoril Open, Albert Ramos-Vinolas emerged victorious from a marathon final against Cameron Norrie.

The 33-year-old was a set and a break down but rallied to win 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7-3) in two hours and 44 minutes in Portugal.

It was the Spaniard's third Tour title and took him to a 16-5 record on clay this season. He has at least seven more wins on the surface than any other ATP player this season.

Jan-Lennard Struff is through to his first final on the ATP Tour after ending Ilya Ivashka's impressive run at the BMW Open in Munich.

Struff had lost in his previous seven semi-final appearances and it appeared the streak may continue when he quickly fell 3-0 behind against his opponent from Belarus.

However, qualifier Ivashka – who had knocked out top seed Alexander Zverev in the previous round – only managed to win two more games in the remainder of a contest that spanned 87 minutes.

A 6-4 6-1 win for Struff sets up a showdown with Nikoloz Basilashvili, who crushed Casper Ruud 6-1 6-2 to progress through from the other half of the draw.

"I am happy to have reached my first final on home soil in Germany and I will try my best tomorrow," seventh seed Struff said after Saturday's match.

Both Basilashvili and Ruud had completed their quarter-final ties earlier on Saturday, but it was the former who coped better with a quick return to action on the clay court, easing to victory in 71 minutes.

At the Estoril Open, Cameron Norrie moved a step closer to a first ATP title after withstanding a barrage of aces to overcome the big-serving Marin Cilic in two sets.

Norrie managed to save five of the six break-point opportunities on his own serve as he eventually prevailed 7-6 (7-5) 7-5. His only previous experience of a final on the ATP Tour came back in 2019, when he lost to Tennys Sandgren at the ASB Classic in Auckland.

"[Marin] was serving great and it was really tricky to get his first serve back. I am fortunate to get through and I am just happy to be in my second final," the Briton said in his on-court interview.

Albert Ramos-Vinolas is the last player standing in his way, the Spaniard battling back after losing his serve in both sets to beat compatriot Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-1 6-4.

Jan-Lennard Struff and Filip Krajinovic had contrasting routes into the BMW Open quarter-finals on Thursday.

Home favourite Struff made it to the last eight of the clay-court tournament for the fourth time in his career with a 7-6 (7-3) 6-7 (0-7) 6-2 triumph over German countryman Dominik Koepfer, who had little to celebrate on his 27th birthday in Munich.

Struff recovered from 4-2 down to take the first set and racked up four straight games to seal the deciding set. He served 11 aces and staved off five break points in a match lasting two hours and 39 minutes.

"I am very, very happy that I turned around the first set," seventh seed Struff said in his on-court interview. 

"I played a not good second-set tie-break. Before [that] the set was okay, but I couldn't lock into his service games that much.

"I am very happy that I broke him I the third set and I am very happy to be through. Dominik is a good guy and a very good player."

Fourth seed Krajinovic stands in the way of Struff and a last-four berth, with the Serbian handed a walkover after last-16 opponent Yannick Hanfmann pulled out with a neck injury.

Nikoloz Basilashvili, seeded fifth, defeated Daniel Elahi Galan 6-4 6-2 to set up a last-eight clash with lucky loser Norbert Gombos, who overcame Federico Coria 6-4 6-1.

At the Estoril Open there was a battle between music collaborators as top seed Denis Shapovalov faced off against Corentin Moutet.

The duo were welcomed onto the court by the track 'Drip', which they released together last year.

On the court, it was Frenchman Moutet who managed to snare an upset victory in a 6-4 2-6 6-4 triumph against the Canadian, to score a second top-20 win of the year.

"It was a very close match," Moutet said. "I'm lucky that I won at the end. A few points decided the winner."

Next up is Albert Ramos-Vinolas, who defeated Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-2 7-6 (7-3).

Cameron Norrie outlasted wildcard Pedro Martinez 4-6 7-6 (7-1) 7-5 to book a quarter-final against second seed Cristian Garin, who never took to the court as opponent Richard Gasquet withdrew with a left adductor problem.

Page 1 of 2
© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.