PETE ZIEBRON in PHOENIX
Casper Ruud of Norway defeats Elias Ymer of Sweden Pete Ziebron Images
Following the initial three games of the Jeremy Chardy - Lorenzo Sonego match on Center Court at the Arizona Tennis Classic, I ventured over to Court 2 to watch an intriguing battle between youngsters Elias Ymer of Sweden and Casper Ruud of Norway.
The Swede took control of the match early on and yielded just 14 points in the opening set to Ruud in winning 6-1. However the Norwegian was able to correct course in the following set. Despite the fact that Ruud was able to convert just one of the five break points he had, it would prove to be enough as the match was now leveled at a set apiece with a 6-3 tally in the middle set. In the final set, Ruud earned an early break and it seemed that it would just be a matter of time until he would advance to the next round. The Norwegian was able to find another gear in the final set while Ymer never really threatened in the match following a solid opening set.
My vantage point for the match was exactly between Elias Ymer's Father and Casper Ruud's family. They sat in the top row of three rows of bleachers while I stood behind the temporary seating arrangement. Ironically they played the match on a court where Madison Keys won a $75K title in 2012 in the now defunct Goldwater Classic.
Immediately following Ruud's win, Italian Lorenzo Sonego stunned Jeremy Chardy on Center Court. In the three games I saw in that match, Sonego's service motion and a bit of his game reminded me of Robin Soderling. Next up on Center was the David Goffin - Roberto Carballes Baena match, with the winner to take on Ruud the following day.
The first row behind the baseline features a very unique vantage point. Picture the short wall down the right field line in Fenway Park and this is basically what we have in Phoenix, a wall no higher than four feet tall. Sitting in this seat enabled me to watch the backswing from an entirely new perspective.
Goffin cruised to an easy 6-1 first set win and it appeared that he would be off the court in an instant. However Carballes Baena had other ideas and was able to break the Belgian twice and rally back from a 1-4 deficit. Unfortunately, the Spaniard was not happy with a call that would have given him a 40-0 lead. Instead, he lost the point in question and proceeded to lose the next three points to get broken. Despite breaking back and holding, Goffin served out the match and won the second set 6-4.
The following day, Goffin would defeat Ruud 7-6(4) 7-6(4) to advance to the quarterfinals.
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