- Casper Ruud suffered a shock defeat in the second round of the Madrid Open, losing 6-3 6-4 to Matteo Arnaldi
- Elena Rybakina also lost in Madrid after being knocked out of the tournament by Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya
World No. 4 Casper Ruud suffered a shock defeat in the second round of the Madrid Open, losing 6-3 6-4 to Matteo Arnaldi.
This was Arnaldi’s first win against a top ten player in the ATP ranking. The Italian qualifier produced a high-quality performance as he hit 35 winners in a commanding baseline display. He hit with great depth to consistently push Casper back.
Casper Ruud is out of Madrid Open. Photo/ Eurosport.
Arnaldi, who competed at the Next Gen ATP Finals last season, is up nine spots to No. 96 in the Pepperstone ATP Liver Rankings. After winning his second ATP Challenger Tour championship of the year in Spain earlier this month, the Italian rose to a career-high ranking of world No. 102.
Speaking after his victory over Casper Ruud, Arnaldi said he struggled a bit playing the best match of his life.
“I don’t know what to say. In Barcelona, I was playing very good, but coming here it is different. The ball bounces so high and I didn’t like it at first. I struggled a bit. But today, I don’t know, maybe the stadium, maybe the pressure on him, but I played the best match of my life.” Matteo Arnaldi said in his on-court interview, as per Eurosport.
Matteo Arnaldi, who is 22 years old, will continue his dream run against Jaume Munar in the third round. Jaume advanced after his opponent Tallon Griekspoor was forced to retire after just one set.
Elena Rybakina Out Of Madrid Open
Another big name in the tennis world, Elena Rybakina, also suffered a shock defeat in the second round of Madrid Open after being knocked out of the tournament by Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya.
Kalinskaya, who lost to Rybakina last month at the Miami Open, was just too good for the Kazakh in Madrid. The Russian defeated Rybakina 7-5 4-6 6-3, producing the third top-10 win of her career and her first top-10 win on clay.
The first set was really close as neither player had any break chances until the late stages of the set. But since there had to be a winner, it was Kalinskaya who got the break and finished it off 7-5. In the second set, it was Rybakina who was able to outperform her opponent and record a 6-4 win, sending it into a decider.
Kalinskaya took an early break in the third set and she kept playing well, eventually finishing it off 6-2. The Russian will next face world No.27 seed Petra Martic, who came through 7-6(6), 6-3 against qualifier Laura Siegemund.
Anna Kalinskaya stunned Elena Rybakina in Madrid. Photo/ Tennis World.
“I’m very happy. Elena is a very tough player. Since juniors we always play difficult matches against each other. I’m happy that we can show a good level of tennis. I’m happy actually for both of us.” Eurosport quotes Anna Kalinskaya.
Meanwhile, Elena Rybakina will now put her focus on the upcoming events, which are the WTA 1000 tournament in Rome and the Roland Garros.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login