Hey there, fellow tennis enthusiasts It’s your girl Mia Johnson-Carter here, living the dream in Miami. Today, I’m diving into some of the most exciting moments from the Nitto ATP Finals, where we saw both shocking upsets and stellar performances.
First off, let’s talk about the big surprise of Day 2: Carlos Alcaraz’s defeat by Casper Ruud in straight sets. Alcaraz, considered one of the favorites to win the tournament behind Jannik Sinner, played one of the worst matches of his season. He won only one game in the first set and showed significant difficulty adapting to the indoor surface.
This loss puts Alcaraz in serious difficulty. It’s a stark contrast to his performance last year when he qualified for the semi-finals despite losing his first match to Sascha Zverev. The 21-year-old from Murcia will face the loser of the match between Zverev and Rublev on Wednesday. It’s clear that Alcaraz has been struggling with health issues, possibly a flu virus that struck him shortly after his arrival in Turin.
On the other hand, Casper Ruud had an incredible day. He achieved a victory that no one could have imagined without losing a single set. The Norwegian, who reached the final in this tournament two years ago, played the best match of his season and took advantage of his rival’s bad day. In an interview after the match, Ruud mentioned that he knew Alcaraz was dealing with a bit of a cold and tried to make him play rallies and do his best.
Ruud’s strategy paid off as he got a good start with an early break and kept it throughout both sets. He continued by saying, “I knew it coming in. I tried to stay in my world, the moment, and luckily I got a good start. I got a break early and kept it, and in the second set I was able to turn it around with some good tennis at the end.”
In the next match, Ruud will face the winner of the clash between Sascha Zverev and Andrey Rublev. This promises to be an exciting matchup as both players have been performing exceptionally well this season.
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