By Sudipto Ganguly
LONDON (Reuters) – Norwegian third seed Casper Ruud registered his maiden Wimbledon victory in his third main-draw appearance when he saw off experienced Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7-6(1) 7-6(9) 6-2 in the first round on Monday.
French Open runner-up Ruud failed to get past the opening hurdle in 2019 and 2021 and arrived at this year’s grasscourt Grand Slam following a first-round loss at Queen’s to world number 180 Ryan Peniston.
The odds were again stacked against the 23-year-old Ruud, who once joked that grass is for golfers, as he faced an opponent who had defeated him in three out of four career meetings — though all the matches were on clay.
Ruud served strongly, dishing out 14 aces, and dominated the baseline battle against the left-hander during a rain-interrupted match.
Both players had opportunities in the first set but neither managed a service break before Ruud dictated terms in the tiebreaker to nose ahead.
The 34-year-old Ramos-Vinolas, ranked 34th, traded two service breaks with his opponent in the second and had four set points in the tiebreaker to level the contest but ended up losing it to fall 2-0 behind.
Ruud grew in confidence as the Spaniard’s challenge melted away and after two breaks in the third set the Norwegian sealed victory to set up a meeting with Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry or Frenchman Ugo Humbert.
(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly; editing by Ed Osmond)
