It only took 1h30 of play and two sets for the winner to eliminate his opponent, but he was not the big favorite of the match. Casper Ruud was surprised by Matteo Arnaldi (6-3, 6-4) on Friday, whom he nevertheless leads by a hundred places in the ATP ranking (4th against 105th), upon entering the Masters 1000 in Madrid.
The Norwegian, on his favorite surface, was the number 3 header of the tournament. His opponent, he had to go through the qualifications to reach this stage of the competition. He notably eliminated the Frenchman Arthur Fils (3-6, 6-3, 6-2), before leaving Benoit Paire in the first round (6-1, 3-6, 7-6 [6]).
Matteo Arnaldi was able to surf on Ruud’s errors (13 unforced errors, 2 double faults) and his difficulty in converting break points (1/7) to fly away in the third round. The Italian will face Jaume Munar, 88th in the world, winner by abandonment of Tallon Griekspoor (7-6 [3]ab.).