Estoril Open: Ruud reach last four in Portugal

Casper Ruud advanced to the semi-finals at the ATP 250 clay-court event on Friday when he dispatched Hungarian Marton Fucsovics 6-3, 6-2.

The top seed is chasing his first title since last year, when he defeated Miomir Kecmanovic  in the Estoril championship match. In a dominant performance against Fucsovics, he won 82 per cent (28/34) of his first-serve points, according to Infosys ATP Stats, to triumph after 68 minutes.

“I’ve seen Marton play better, definitely I’ve felt Marton play better, because the last time we played I lost 6-0, 6-0 to him, double bagel. It’s some years ago now but happy to get my revenge,” Ruud said, referring to their ATP Challenger Tour meeting in Budapest in 2017.

“A bit unfortunate for him, struggling a bit physically [toward the end of the match]. But for me it’s another good match on the clay in Estoril. Moving on to the semi-finals without having to spend three hours on court is fantastic. I will have extra energy and time to recover for Saturday.”

With his victory against Fucsovics, he has improved to 8-0 against players outside the Top 50 in the PIF ATP Rankings this year. He will next play Pedro Martinez

Martinez overcame French lucky loser Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-4 to advance to his second tour-level semi-final of the season after one hour and 46 minutes.

The Spaniard has now won his past eight matches across all levels, after winning an ATP Challenger Tour trophy in Spain.

Second seed Hubert Hurkacz reached his first tour-level clay-court semi-final with a 7-6(4), 6-4 victory against Spaniard Pablo Llamas Ruiz.

Hurkacz will next play Cristian Garin after the Chilean defeated Portugal’s Nuno Borges 6-2, 7-6(3).

With his two-hour, 11-minute win, Garin reached his first tour-level semi-final since Houston in 2022. He has also won three consecutive matches on clay for the first time since Rome in 2022.