Casper Ruud defeated Rafa Nadal (6-4, 6-4) for the first time this Sunday in an exhibition match in Quito where both athletes worked hard to please the Ecuadorian public.
In front of about 12,000 spectators who almost filled the Rumiñahui Coliseum, from Quito, Nadal and Ruud offered a show worthy of the current number two and three in the world, respectivelyin the ATP rankings.
Although this achievement does not count Ruud in the official records, The Norwegian can already say that he managed to dominate the Mallorcan tennis player before leading a crowd to see his rival, the only winner in tennis history of 22 ‘Grand Slam’ titles.
In official matches, Nadal remains undefeated against Ruud after winning the 2022 Roland Garros final and, more recently, the ATP Masters Cup, held in Turin (Italy).
The Nordic seems better adapted to the conditions of the ultra-fast track prepared for the occasionwith a synthetic terrain that became faster and more electric at the height of the Ecuadorian capital, located at 2,800 meters above sea level.
Under these conditions, Ruud knew how to take advantage of his powerful serves and won many points with his forehand by taking Rafa down and to the limit of the court.
Meanwhile, the tennis player from Manacor sought to shorten the court and go to the net very often, which gave good results and Ruud rarely knew how to hurt him at short distances.
However, the height made him miss some winners that he normally wouldn’t have missed, and here they left the track, something unusual for him.
“It’s hard to play at heightbut I promise I will come back to improve,” Nadal said at the end of the match.
“It was an unforgettable experience. I saw the center of Quito this morning and the reception was wonderful. It’s a wonderful city,” he added.
There were also pleasant moments, when Nadal took a child from the audience to play a point against Ruud and the constant indifference of the ball boys that the Spaniards took with philosophy and humor.
The Norwegian took both sets by breaking serve in each of them and never lostwhich made him the champion of the KIA Quito Bicentennial Cup.
This match is part of Nadal’s exhibition tour in Latin America that has brought him to Buenos Aires, Santiago de Chile and Belo Horizonte (Brazil) in recent days, while after Quito he will head to Bogotá and Mexico City.
In Buenos Aires and Belo Horizonte he also faced Ruud, whom he defeated on both occasions and who will be measured again in Bogotá and Mexico City, while in Santiago de Chile the athlete from Manacor defeated the Chilean Alejandro Tabilo.
Source: La Verdad
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