Ruud turns tables on Tsitsipas in Barcelona, Struff captures first ATP title

In a rematch of last week’s Monte-Carlo final, Casper Ruud avenged his recent loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas by triumphing 7-5, 6-3 for the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell title on Sunday afternoon.

It is the biggest title of Ruud’s career (ATP 500), as every single one of his 10 previous successes had come at the 250 level. He had been 0-7 lifetime in finals of 500s, Masters 1000s, Grand Slams, and the Nitto ATP Finals.

“Honestly, this has been worth the wait,” the sixth-ranked Norwegian assured. “A lot of finals that I’ve lost have been tough, a bit disappointing, of course. Any time you reach a final, it’s nonetheless a good week, so you can’t be too hard on yourself, but this one has been a long time coming.

“I’m super happy to do it here in Barcelona in front of a packed stadium and on Rafa Nadal Court. It’s special to me because I looked up to him all my childhood, came here myself as a 13-year-old boy to watch him and the others play here. It’s a great feeling.”

At the BMW Open, Jan-Lennard Struff became the third-oldest player all time to emerge as a first-time ATP champion. The 33-year-old German treated the home crowd in Munich to a 7-5, 7-3 victory over Taylor Fritz in Sunday’s final.

“[It feels] unbelievable, and to do it on home soil is just incredible,” Struff said .”I waited so long. I’m 33 years old and played so long on tour. It’s just an amazing feeling to do it here in Germany.”

The world No. 28, who destroyed Holger Rune 6-2, 6-0 in the semis, had previously been 0-3 in ATP title matches. He was a former runner-up in Munich and also finished runner-up at last year’s Madrid Masters (lost to Carlos Alcaraz).

A third final on Sunday took place in Bucharest, where Marton Fucsovics won the Tiriac Open. Fucsovics picked up an impressive 6-4, 7-5 clay-court victory over 2024 breakout star Mariano Navone.

This marks the Hungarian’s second ATP title and first since 2018 in Geneva

“It feels really good,” Fucsovics commented. “It’s been a long time since I’ve won an ATP 250 tournament, so it’s a great feeling. I was working really hard for it. Today was a tough one, but I was fighting until the end.”

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