Miami Open: Casper Ruud defeated Alexander Zverev in three sets.© Twitter
Norway’s Casper Ruud not only pulled off an upset win against Alexander Zverev, but also completed the win in style as he displayed some unique skills and tricks with the ball during the Miami Open quarter-finals. Ruud put on a complete performance as he enthralled the crowd during his three-set demolition (6-3, 1-6, 6-3) of Zverev. With the eyes in the crowd constantly monitoring the movement of star player Zverev, Ruud made his time count in the middle with quirky antics. Such was one instance where he nonchalantly opened one of the pockets in his shorts to collect the ball straight from the other end of the court. As soon as Ruud pulled it off, the crowd went into a frenzy and burst into a big round of applause for the Norwegian player.
Here’s a look at the breathtaking video of Ruud collecting the ball in a unique way:
Ruud-iculous skills @CasperRuud98 #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/3NZCRN3p2b
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 31, 2022
As far as the match was concerned, Ruud was equally up to the mark as his opponent.
He won the first set comfortably, 6-3, to put Zverev onto the backfoot straightaway.
However, the Tokyo 2020 gold medalist roared back to level proceedings at the end of the second set, 6-1, as the match was then tied one-set all.
There was hardly anything to choose between the two players as they kept things tight and made use of every opportunity that came their way.
Although Zverev enjoyed putting in more aces as compared to Ruud, the later balanced it out with a better first serve percentage of 75 against Zverev’s 67.
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Both players almost had the same win percentage on the first serve, but Ruud surely enjoyed an upper hand with a better win percentage on the second serve.
Ruud will now face Argentine professional tennis player Francisco Cerundolo in the semi-finals.
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