Stefanos Tsitsipas was defeated 2-0 sets (5-7, 3-6) by Casper Rudd in the “big” final of the Barcelona tournament, losing his winning streak and the title in the Spanish ATP “500”.
Although he started the match perfectly, Stefanos Tsitsipas was unable to put Casper Rude on the canvas, who then found his spirit and overturned the first set and the match. The Norwegian “answered” with two breaks in the first of the top Greek tennis player in the match and never looked back, comfortably reaching 2-0 and the victory in Barcelona.
Rood thus got revenge from Tsitsipas for the lost final in Monte Carlo and won the title in the “500” tournament of Spain, with Stefanos once again losing the opportunity for the trophy in Catalonia.
The game
Stefanos Tsitsipas got off to the perfect start, breaking his opponent’s first service game to take a 2-0 lead and set the stage for the first set. The top Greek tennis player looked like he could find a second break as well, but Kasper Ruud managed to change the situation with his own break in the 6th game of the match.
The Norwegian even got psychological in the match and found a second break at the end of the first set, to “close” it with 7-5 and make it 1-0 in the Barcelona final.
In the second set, Rude had already found a rhythm and easily reached a new break to take a 4-1 lead and “hug” the title. Tsitsipas even had to erase two break points in the sixth game to stay in the match, but the Norwegian was now much more stable and had no trouble reaching 6-3 to make it 2-0 and take the victory and the trophy in Barcelona.
The top Greek tennis player, for his part, lost for the 11th time in the final of a “500” ATP tournament, with his winning streak also stopping, in his 11th game after … marching in Monte Carlo and Barcelona, until the final.
Tsitsipas now wants to return to a winning streak on clay surfaces, in view of Roland Garros.
