2023-04-28 11:16:00
The finalist of last year’s US Open, due to his seeding (4th ATP), had a bye in the first round. In the second, he will face 22-year-old Matteo Arnaldi (105th ATP). The Italian is only at the end of his career, and he advanced to the main tournament from the qualifications. In them, he defeated Filip Misolic (126th ATP) and Arthur Fils (124th ATP). In the first round in three sets he was better than the Frenchman Benoit Paire (161st ATP).
Ruud quickly says goodbye to Madrid. He’s having a very poor season
As a reward for his good results, he was able to head to Madrid’s second-largest court, the Arantxa Sanchez Stadium, in the early noon on Friday to face third-seeded Casper Ruud. The Norwegian was a surefire favorite of this meeting, but the Italian, listed in the second hundred, turned out to be unexpectedly better. And quite clearly – 6:3, 6:4. This is only his fourth ATP major tournament win.
Matteo Arnaldi played aggressively and often pushed Ruud into deep defense. In the entire match, he recorded as many as 32 finishing strokes, with only 9 unforced errors. He often ended his actions at the net. The 24-year-old Norwegian was far too passive and could not force his rival to make a mistake. His iron defense or counter-attacks, which he is usually known for, were completely non-existent.
This season we could get used to it, because the finalist of last year’s US Open records a very poor first half of the year. He said goodbye to big events very quickly – in the Australian Open in the second round, in Indian Wells or Miami in the third, but only because of the free draw. The same in Monte Carlo and Barcelona. His only tournament triumph was in Estoril – ATP 250 – but the highest ranked player who was defeated there was Sebastian Baez (31st ATP).
On Friday, Iga ¦wiątek and Hubert Hurkacz will start the competition in Madrid. Polka in the evening, at 20:00, will face Julia Grabher (92nd WTA). On the other hand, the 12th-seeded player from Wrocław will come out on the court around 5:00 p.m. His rival will be tennis veteran, 36-year-old Richard Gasquet (43. ATP).
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