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World No. 16 Casper Ruud admits he feels a bit of pressure as the top seed in Bastad but that didn't negatively impact his performance on Thursday. Ruud, who had a first round bye in Bastad, kicked off his campaign at the tournament on Thursday against rising Danish star Holger Rune.
Ruud, the top-ranked player from Norway, had no problems against his Scandinavian opponent as he beat Rune 6-0 6-2. Ruud recently won it all on the clay courts of Geneva and he is hoping to do the same in Bastad. Last year, Ruud captured his maiden ATP title on the clay courts of Bastad.
“I am very happy today. It is a surface I have had the most success of my career, it is great to be back here in Bastad," Ruud said, per the ATP website. "The tournament is so nice as always. There is a bit of extra pressure [being the top seed].
In a match like this against a fellow Scandinavian younger player, it is even more. “I think I was very professional in my mindset today. I played a match without any errors really from the first to the last point. It is a nice feeling being the top seed but also pressure.
I felt great crowd support, it is nice to feel that energy”.
Ruud dominated Rune
Ruud made a convincing start to the match, having broken Rune to love in the second game of the match. Rune had a break point in the third game but failed to convert as Ruud took a 3-0 lead.
After saving a break point in the third game, Ruud dominated the rest of the first set as he broke Rune two more times to comfortably win the opener. Ruud saved two break points in the opening game of the second set, before breaking Rune to love in the second game for a 2-0 lead. Ruud claimed his fifth break of the match in the eighth game to book a straigtht-set win.