Norwegian Casper Ruud Eliminates Italian Gaio on His Way to the Semis

“It was up and down. I had a chance to win the match in the second set but the opponent played a few great shots. I had to try very hard in order to win,” said Balazs.

The match between Marcelo Arevalo of Salvador and Peter Torebko took three hours less eighteen minutes. The German surprise extended his victorious course at the Moneta Czech Open tournament after winning the third set of the marathon duel in tiebreak. “It was the third very long match in a row. I don’t even know where I found so much energy in me. It’s probably because I never give up and I was rewarded for it in the match,” said the unexpected semi-finalist.

The top seed Casper Ruud also spent over two hours on the court. Federico Gaio of Italy battled for every ball. However, he lost his serve in the ninth game of the final set and the Norwegian took the offered chance. “It’s definitely been the toughest match.  Federico was very hard to play and he was getting better and better. I had more energy in the end, otherwise we were absolutely equal,” said Ruud in reference to the match.

“I had a good start and could concentrate at the beginning. However, the opponent improved a great deal in the second set which really surprised me. It was hard for me to get back after he broke my serve. I had to refocus and eventually managed to win the third match it which was, of course, most important. I tried to play steadily. I returned well, maybe a little short sometimes, but I managed to return many balls. I’ve been playing very well the last months and I try to keep it as long as possible. I’ve already won three matches in Prostějov and I’m satisfied.”