ATP Rio: Casper Ruud tops the last remaining seed. Cuevas and Djere win
Two years after a breakthrough run in Rio de Janeiro, a qualifier Casper Ruud is through to the quarter-final again following a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 win over the 5th seed Joao Sousa, the last remaining one in the tournament! The match lasted two hours and 11 minutes and Casper earned the win with more reliable performance on the second serve, repelling nine of the 13 break points he faced and stealing Sousa's serve five times to cross the finish line first. It was a shaky start from both, with returners missing six break points in games two and three before back-to-back breaks in games five and six. Casper sprayed a forehand error at 2-2 to fall behind, breaking back at love in the following game to gain the momentum and win 16 of the last 18 points for a 6-3!
The youngster fired a forehand winner to break at love at 4-3 and he closed the set with a hold at love for a 6-3. Breaking Sousa at the start of the second set, Ruud opened a convincing lead before Joao broke back in game four to end his downfall, securing another break in game eight. Serving for the set, Sousa saved two break points and he was now the favorite to bring the match home in the decider and remain the best-ranked player in the field. Instead of that, Casper grabbed 13 of the first 15 points at the start of the third set, breaking at love in game two with a forehand winner and creating another opportunity at 4-1.
Joao erased a break point to remain within one break deficit and he was back on the positive side of the scoreboard when Casper hit a forehand long in the following game. Nonetheless, the youngster was more focused in the closing moments, achieving a break in game ten when Joao netted a forehand to prevail and enter the last eight for the first time since July. After defeating Dominic Thiem in the opening round, Laslo Djere toppled the Japanese Taro Daniel 6-4, 6-2 in an hour and 25 minutes for the biggest result since Gstaad last year. The Serb fired 13 aces and he lost just ten points behind the initial shot, never facing a break point and mounting the pressure on the other side of the net.
Daniel was unable to repeat those numbers in his games, suffering three games and leaving Rio de Janeiro with one win under his belt. Djere hit the zone from the very first shot, determined to continue where he left against Thiem and finding the way to break Taro in game nine before closing the opener with another comfortable hold. Daniel had nothing in the tank for set number two and he got broken in the first and seventh games, trailing 5-2 and allowing Laslo to seal the deal with a hold in game eight and march into the quarters.
The struggling Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas was on the verge of leaving the top-100 but his position on the list certainly looks better after back-to-back quarter-finals for the first time since Barcelona 2017. Albert overpowered Federico Delbonis 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 in two hours and 20 minutes, winning six points more than his rival and prevailing after a great performance on serve in the final set. 2016 champion Pablo Cuevas needed just 68 minutes to dismiss Cordoba winner Juan Ignacio Londero 6-1, 6-4. Pablo lost only ten points on serve, fending off the only break point he faced and stealing Londero's serve three times for a commanding win.
The first set ended in less than 25 minutes, with Pablo dropping one point in four service games, breaking Juan Ignacio in game two after a poor drop shot from the Argentinian and again in game six following a double fault. Pablo broke once in the second set, sealing the deal with a backhand crosscourt winner in game ten to advance into the quarters.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2GWfjXM
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