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Casper Ruud has lost the world No. 2 spot and Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal are set to make history on Monday. Ruud, who rose to second place following his runner-up finish at the US Open, suffered a shock quarterfinal defeat to Yoshihito Nishioka in the Seoul quarterfinal.
Following Ruud’s Seoul defeat, Nadal is set to overtake the Norwegian at No. 2 is Monday. When that happens, Alcaraz and Nadal will become the first-ever two Spanish players to occupy the two top positions simultaneously.
Alcaraz, Nadal to occupy the two top spots after Ruud’s exit in Seoul
On Friday, 56th-ranked Nishioka upset first-seeded Ruud 6-2 3-6 6-3 in the Seoul quarterfinal. Nishioka, who was easily beaten by Ruud when they clashed as the 2021 Madrid Masters, got his revenge against the Norwegian this Friday.
“I feel great. My motivation is very high,” Nishioka said. “I am playing very well, very smart. He is a great player. I know he came from Europe and played at the Laver Cup, which is not easy matches. He wasn’t settled on this court or this country yet, maybe.
I was ready. I was focused on playing against him and I had a plan and it worked.” Nishioka got off to a great start to the match, breaking Ruud twice to easily win the first set. After easily losing the first set, Ruud faced pressure on his serve early on in the second set, but was able to save break points in the first and fifth games.
Then, Ruud clinched his first break of the match in the sixth game to take a 4-2 lead in the second set. Ruud routinely held on to his serve the rest of the set to send the match into a decider. In the third set, the two players were tied at two games apiece before Nishioka clinched back-to-back breaks and won four games in a row to complete a shock victory over Ruud. Ruud will likely drop to third place on Monday.
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Sources 2/ https://www.tennisworldusa.org/tennis/news/Rafael_Nadal/121553/rafael-nadal-carlos-alcaraz-set-to-make-tennis-history-after-casper-ruud-s-defeat/ The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article |
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