Torino (Italy) – Even without being a specialist on indoor hard courts, the Norwegian Casper Ruud showed great consistency during his debut in the ATP Finals and signed his third consecutive victory against the Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, sensation of the last weeks on the circuit. The number 4 in the ranking scored 7/6 (7-4) and 6/4.

One of the surprises of 2021, Ruud reached the final and reached the semi-finals with two group stage triumphs. This year, during which he played in two Grand Slam finals, at Roland Garros and the US Open, he won his 49th victory in 69 games played since January, 23 out of 34 on synthetic soil.

Cat and mouse: Ruud & FAA style 🕺@CasperRuud98 #NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/CIgOLMr4xG

– Tennis TV (@TennisTV) November 13, 2022

Champion of three consecutive indoor hard court tournaments in recent weeks, Aliassime is playing his fifth tournament in six weeks. This is his first appearance in a final, a place confirmed only at the Paris Masters, where he lost to eventual champion Holger Rune in the semi-finals.

Ruud and Aliassime are in the green group of the finals and will perform again on Tuesday. The Norwegian will face the winner of the match between Rafael Nadal and Taylor Fritz, scheduled for 5 p.m. this Sunday, while the Canadian will play his chances of qualification against the loser.

good performance `
Winning the last two games and especially the August one in Montreal probably generated a lot of confidence for Ruud in reuniting with Aliassime. Even on fast ground, the Norwegian served well – 66% hit first serve and five aces – and never allowed the opponent a break point.

The opening set was totally dominated by the servers – only three games reached 40-30 – and the tie-break proved more nervous. Ruud made it 4-2, allowed a 4-4 draw, but then won the decisive three points, including a double fault from Aliassime in the set ball.

The Canadian missed a big chance in the fourth game of the second set. Reacted 40-0 and had two balls to reach break point, but made mistakes. Ruud was then very timely on the returns to get the break at 4/3 and did well in another equal game afterwards. Finally, he closed the game with excellent serves.

It starts strong 🔥@casperruud98 beats Auger-Aliassime for his first victory of the 2022 season #NittoATPFinals🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/3vcHP5WWfi

– Tennis TV (@TennisTV) November 13, 2022