Ruud, Tsitsipas remain on track for final rematch in Barcelona

Could Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas be set to face off for an ATP Tour trophy in consecutive weeks?

On Thursday, both Top 10 stars booked their spot in the quarter-finals at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell by each easing to a straight-sets victory in the third round. Ruud and Tsitsipas, who clashed in the final at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters just four days ago, cannot meet until the championship match at the Spanish clay-court ATP 500.

Despite falling short against Tsitsipas in the Monte-Carlo title match, Ruud’s rock-solid record for 2024 became a Tour-leading one after he eased past Jordan Thompson 6-1, 6-4 in Barcelona for his 26th win of the season. With his victory, the third-seeded Ruud moved clear of Jannik Sinner for the most tour-level triumphs in 2024.

Man on a mission 🚀@CasperRuud98 knocks out Thompson 6-1 6-4 to reach the last 8 in Barcelona!@bcnopenbs | #BCNOpenBS pic.twitter.com/iDnbOaUZmx

— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 18, 2024

A 10-time ATP Tour champion, Ruud spoke before the tournament about his desire to convert his consistent performances so far this year into title wins. The 25-year-old will likely not have to wait long if he continues playing the sort of tennis he produced against Thompson, who was unable to match his opponent’s clean hitting from the baseline.

Ruud, who has reached three finals already this year (Los Cabos, Acapulco, Monte-Carlo), raced into an early 5-0 lead and hardly looked back from there on Pista Rafa Nadal. He closed out the opening set before clinching a decisive break in the seventh game of the second, ultimately wrapping a 73-minute victory.

The Norwegian won 81 per cent (26/32) of points behind his first delivery, according to Infosys ATP Stats, as he took a 3-2 lead in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Thompson and avenged his loss to the Australian in the Los Cabos final in February.

Now into the quarter-finals in Barcelona for the second time, Ruud will take on Matteo Arnaldi next in Spain. The No. 40 in the PIF ATP Rankings earlier downed Marco Trungelliti 6-3, 6-0 to secure his last-eight spot.

Fifth seed Tsitsipas was also in fine form in a 7-5, 6-3 triumph against Roberto Carballes Baena. The Greek converted three of 11 break points he earned to extend his winning streak to eight matches.

“It’s good to be on a streak like this,” said Tsitsipas, whose title run in Monte-Carlo last week was his first of this season. “It tends to get tougher, the more you proceed. To maintain it is the most difficult part, so to have that number so far is good. It adds confidence to me, I really like to be on a streak like this.

“It’s one of those things that you wish happens more often as a tennis player, so definitely taking the positives out of all of this and trying to apply it to my tennis as much as I can.”

The last Spaniard remaining in the draw, Carballes Baena had notched the first break of serve in the match in the fifth game against Tsitsipas, but the Greek responded immediately with a break of his own and then raised his game at key moments. He broke the World No. 72 again in the 12th game to clinch the opening set, and another break of serve in the sixth game of the second set proved enough to set Tsitsipas on the path to victory.

“I had to stay in there and try and find solutions,” said the 25-year-old Tsitsipas. “He was returning well at certain moments in the match, and I had to come up with some big shots. My patience was there when I needed it the most.

“I was doing great things with my forehand and my serve seemed to click at some point during the match, which gave me a few games. That helped a little bit [from a] physical aspect.”

A three-time finalist in Barcelona, Tsitsipas will on Friday take on Facundo Diaz Acosta in the last eight. The Argentine earlier rallied past Fabian Marozsan 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.