San Diego Open: Cameron Norrie beaten in final by Casper Ruud
Britain’s Cameron Norrie loses in straight sets to Casper Ruud in the San Diego Open final.
Britain’s Cameron Norrie loses in straight sets to Casper Ruud in the San Diego Open final.
Only a week after Hubert Hurkacz edged past his nearest rival into eighth place in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin, Casper Ruud returned the favour.
The Norwegian reclaimed eighth spot following his first tour-level title on hard courts at the San Diego Open, where he breezed past Cameron Norrie 6-0, 6-2 on Sunday. It gave Ruud a tour-leading fifth trophy for the season and a timely reminder his best was not confined to clay with a month still left to book a passage to the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.
“I know that now I will jump up to eighth and it’s fun because Jannik [Sinner] and Hubert are the closest guys behind me,” Ruud said. “Within these two weeks we’ve all won a tournament so it’s a strong competition now. I think us three are the closest to capturing the last two spots.”
Hurkacz – who captured his maiden ATP Masters 1000 trophy in Miami in April – snuck above the 22-year-old a week ago, following his third tour-level title of the season in Metz. It made for a short turnaround as the Pole headed Stateside for the San Diego Open, where he fell in the second round to Aslan Karatsev, No. 12 in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin.
View Latest FedEx ATP Race To Turin Rankings
Following his maiden Grand Slam semi-final in New York – a run which eventual champion Daniil Medvedev ended – Felix Auger-Aliassime catapulted into contention. Like Ruud, Hurkacz and Sinner, the 21-year-old’s eyes are firmly fixed on a Nitto ATP Finals debut. But at the weekend he was displaced by fellow #NextGenATP rival Sinner for 10th spot.
Top seed Sinner defeated Gael Monfils to defend his ATP 250 title in Sophia less than 24 hours before Ruud’s title run across the Atlantic. With seventh-placed Rafael Nadal out for the remainder of the season, it will be a fiercely contested battle for what shapes as two final berths in Turin.
“Obviously there are some big events that will be played now – Indian Wells, there’s 1000 points on the line – also Paris and Vienna,” Ruud said. “There is no way I can kind of relax and think that I will make it because I have to try to think that Hubert and Jannik can both do really well, so I have to do the same.
“I think that’s how it should be. It should be a strong competition and whoever gets there in the end, deserves it more. It’s as simple as this. This win really helps me and in a part of the year where previously I haven’t done too well… I think they should play San Diego more times in October in future years.”
Ruud’s 2,925 points currently leaves him 1,030 points behind sixth-placed Matteo Berrettini in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin. As he prepares for the short trip to join his remaining race contenders in the Californian desert this week, only 605 points separate him and 11th-placed Auger-Aliassime.
“I’m looking forward to playing [Indian Wells] as a main draw player [for the first time],” Ruud said. “As a seeded player I will have a bye and I will take the time now to recover and recharge the batteries and go full for Indian Wells.”
No clay? No problem for Casper Ruud.
The Norwegian, who has shone brightly on clay, won his first hard-court title on Sunday by defeating in-form Briton Cameron Norrie 6-0, 6-2 n the final of the San Diego Open. All-time great Rod Laver presented Ruud with his trophy.
“Special thanks to Rod, obviously the legend. I think you need to come to all my matches now because I’m playing really good when you come and watch,” Ruud said during the trophy ceremony. “I hope you will come to Indian Wells next week to watch, so let’s see [what happens there]!”
The second seed battled past a series of tough opponents at the California ATP 250 — and lost just one set in four matches against Andy Murray, ninth seed Lorenzo Sonego, former World No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov and Norrie — to become the first player on the ATP Tour to lift five titles this season. Before 2021, he had earned just one tour-level crown.
2021 Title Leaders
| Player | # of Titles |
| 1) Casper Ruud | 5 |
| T2) Novak Djokovic | 4 |
| T2) Daniil Medvedev | 4 |
| T2) Alexander Zverev | 4 |
| T5) Hubert Hurkacz | 3 |
| T5) Jannik Sinner | 3 |
Ruud will importantly climb into eighth in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin as he tries to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at the Pala Alpitour in Turin from 14-21 November.
The Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals alumnus made his mark early in the match, breaking in his first return game, and he never looked back. Ruud allowed Norrie to win just three service points in the first set, and that set the tone.
The Norwegian took advantage of uncharacteristically sloppy play from his opponent early and then dictated play from his backhand corner, unleashing heavy forehands to keep Norrie from finding his comfort zone.
The Briton, who upset top seed Andrey Rublev in the semi-finals, made a better start to the second set as he cut down his unforced errors. But Ruud hit a perfect backhand passing shot to go up 4-2, and showed no nerves in closing out the match after 62 minutes.
Ruud had never made an ATP Tour final on hard courts before this week. But he showed great balance throughout the tournament behind his physical baseline style and coming forward when he needed to finish points at the net.
Norrie excels on hard courts and like Ruud has enjoyed the best season of his career. But this year’s Los Cabos champion was unable to add a second tour-level trophy to his resumé.
Did You Know?
Earlier this season, Ruud won titles in Bastad, Gstaad and Kitzbühel in three consecutive weeks to become the firsst player to win three titles in as many weeks since Murray in 2011.
The ATP Race to Milan has entered the home stretch in October as #NextGenATP hopefuls pursue one of four remaining berths. The 2019 champion Jannik Sinner, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Carlos Alcaraz and Sebastian Korda have already qualified.
Only 236 points currently separate fifth and eighth spots for the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals. Jenson Brooksby is next in line to qualify and joins Lorenzo Musetti, Brandon Nakashima and Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune in the BNP Paribas Open main draw this week, hoping to cement a place.
ATPTour.com looks at the leading contenders battling it out for a place in Milan.
No. 5 Jenson Brooksby
The 20-year-old American has enjoyed a breakthrough run on home soil in recent months, reaching his maiden fourth round at the US Open, where he beat the likes of Taylor Fritz and Aslan Karatsev before taking a set off World No. 1 Novak Djokovic. Only a month earlier, Brooksby stormed into his first ATP Tour final in Newport (l. to Anderson) and backed it up with a semi-final run in Washington, where he beat then No. 15 in the FedEx ATP Rankings Auger-Aliassime en route.
No. 6 Lorenzo Musetti
The chance to compete before his home crowd, close to his hometown of Carrara, gives the Italian further incentive to seal his place. The 19-year-old notched ATP Tour semi-finals in Acapulco and Lyon, where he fell to Stefanos Tsitsipas on both occasions, and in his Roland Garros debut, took down David Goffin and former semi-finalist Marco Cecchinato en route to the fourth round. He will be keen to rediscover his best form in Indian Wells, after winning just two of his past nine matches.
No. 7 Juan Manuel Cerundolo
One of the most remarkable runs to a maiden ATP Tour title in 2021 came in Cordoba where a then World No. 335 Cerundolo won three rounds of qualifying and five main-draw matches on debut to land the silverware on home soil. The Argentine was the fifth-lowest ranked ATP Tour titlist since 1990. The 19-year-old added another trophy to his haul with a first ATP Challenger title in Rome and entered October on a 10-match winning streak with two further titles at this level.
Full ATP Race To Milan Standings
No. 8 Brandon Nakashima
In a breakout two weeks, 19-year-old American Nakashima reached his maiden tour-level final in Los Cabos (l. to Norrie) in July and his second a week later in Atlanta where he upset top seed Milos Raonic en route to crack the top 100. He avenged that final defeat to his compatriot Isner in the first round of the US Open and arrived at Indian Wells having claimed 12 of his past 18 matches on hard courts.
No. 9 Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune
Grand Slam debuts don’t come much bigger than facing a World No. 1 under the lights on Arthur Ashe Stadium, but having won through qualifying, that was 18-year-old Rune’s reward at this year’s US Open. The Dane acquitted himself well as he took a set off Djokovic and with his first three ATP Challenger Tour titles already this season has soared from No. 473 in the FedEx ATP Rankings to the brink of the Top 100.
No. 10 Hugo Gaston
In the same week that Alcaraz captured his first tour-level trophy in Umag and Nakashima contested his first ATP Tour final in Los Cabos, Frenchman Gaston had a shot at his maiden title in Gstaad. The 21-year-old came up short against Casper Ruud but has reached an ATP Challenger Tour final in Tulln, Austria, and back-to-back semi-finals in Portugal at that level since to stay in the hunt for Milan.
In a stacked field of talent, with the biggest stars and brightest emerging prospects in action, US Open champion Daniil Medvedev and World No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas lead the way at the BNP Paribas Open for the 44th edition of the ATP Masters 1000 event.
Here’s what you need to know:
The 2021 BNP Paribas Open will be held from 7-17 October. The hard-court ATP Masters 1000 tournament, established in 1976, will take place at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California. The tournament director is former World No. 2 Tommy Haas.
The BNP Paribas Open will feature 16 of the Top 20 players in the FedEx ATP Rankings, led by Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev and Matteo Berrettini.
The Indian Wells draw will be made on Tuesday, 5 October at 3:00 p.m.
* Qualifying: Tuesday, 5 October – Wednesday, 6 October at 11:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
* Main Draw: Thursday, 7 October – Sunday, 17 October. Thursday, 7 October – Friday 15 October at 11:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
* Doubles Final: Saturday, 16 October at 11:00 a.m.
* Singles Final: Sunday, 17 October at 4:00 p.m.
* View On Official Website
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The prize money for the BNP Paribas Open is $8,359,455 and the Total Financial Commitment is $9,146,125.
SINGLES
Winner: $1,209,730/1,000 points
Finalist: $640,000/600 points
Semifinalist: $335,000/360 points
Quarterfinalist: $175,000/180 points
Round of 16: $92,000/90 points
Round of 32: $51,895/45 points
Round of 64: $29,045/25 points
Round of 96: $18,155/ 10 points
DOUBLES ($ per team)
Winner: $414,500/1,000 points
Finalist: $220,000/600 points
Semifinalist: $117,240/360 points
Quarterfinalist: $59,740/180 points
Round of 16: $31,500/90 points
Round of 32: $16,870/45 points
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Dominic Thiem won the 2019 BNP Paribas Open singles title with a 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 win against Roger Federer in the championship match (Read & Watch). Nikola Mektic and Horacio Zeballos lifted the doubles trophy in Indian Wells with a 4-6, 6-4, 10-3 victory against Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo in the final (Read More).
Most Titles, Singles: Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer (5)
Most Titles, Doubles: Mark Knowles, Daniel Nestor (4)
Oldest Champion: Roger Federer, 35, in 2017
Youngest Champion: Boris Becker, 19, in 1987
Highest-Ranked Champion: No. 1 Jimmy Connors in 1976, Jim Courier in 1993, Pete Sampras in 1994-95, Lleyton Hewitt in 2002-03, Roger Federer in 2004-06, Rafael Nadal in 2009, Novak Djokovic in 2015-16
Lowest-Ranked Champion: No. 143 Larry Stefanki in 1985
Last Home Champion: Andre Agassi in 2001
Most Match Wins: Roger Federer (66)
View Who Is Playing, Past Champions, Seeds, Points & Prize Money Breakdown
Medvedev New Major Champion: Medvedev is fresh off the biggest title of his career at the US Open. Will the Russian be able to maintain his momentum and claim his second Masters 1000 trophy of the season? The World No. 2, who has won four tournaments this year (Marseille, Mallorca, Toronto, US Open), will try to add another victory at Indian Wells, where he owns a 3-3 record.
Tsitsipas Shining: Tsitsipas will be the second seed in just his third appearance in the BNP Paribas Open (1-2). The Greek star has shown great consistency at Masters 1000 events this season, advancing to at least the quarter-finals in five of the first six events at this level. Tsitsipas won his first Masters 1000 title in Monte-Carlo, where he did not lose a set, and will try to claim another in Indian Wells.
FedEx ATP Race To Turin Heating Up: Several players are trying to stake their claim to one of the remaining spots at the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at the Pala Alpitour in Turin from 14-21 November. Thanks to his efforts in San Diego, Casper Ruud moves into eighth in the Race. And since Rafael Nadal will not compete in Turin due to injury, that leaves room for Hubert Hurkacz, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Jannik Sinner among others to push for a spot.
#NextGenATP Debuts: Since the BNP Paribas Open has not been held since 2019, there are several #NextGenATP stars who will make their debut at the Masters 1000 event. Umag champion Carlos Alcaraz, Parma titlist Sebastian Korda, Newport finalist Jenson Brooksby and Italian Lorenzo Musetti will all make their main draw debuts at the hard-court event.
New Champion Incoming: There is guaranteed to be a first-time BNP Paribas Open singles champion in 2021. Will Cincinnati titlist Alexander Zverev, Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini or Russian star Andrey Rublev make their mark in the desert?
Stadium 1 at the BNP Paribas Open is the second largest tennis-specific stadium in the world, with a capacity of more than 16,000. The tournament is usually held in March and is the first ATP Masters 1000 event of the season, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it takes place in October in 2021.
Ken Skupski won a title on Sunday in Sofia alongside Jonny O’Mara. More than nine hours later and halfway across the world, Neal Skupski joined his older brother in the winners’ circle.
Top seeds Skupski and Joe Salisbury defeated third seeds John Peers and Filip Polasek 7-6(2), 3-6, 10-5 to win the San Diego Open.
“I think I had just woken up when I saw the result. But it was a nice feeling to start the day off with that win,” Neal said of Ken’s win. “For him to come back and bounce back and win a tournament in Sofia, it’s great.”
The Skupski Brothers triumphed in Acapulco this March before Ken hit a rough patch when he suffered a blood clot in his right leg. But now both brothers are playing well.
Salisbury and Skupski are not full-time partners — Salisbury recently won the US Open with Rajeev Ram and that team has clinched its spot at the Nitto ATP Finals. But when Salisbury and Skupski have played together, it has gone well.
Read Feature: From A Breakthrough To A Blood Clot, Skupski Brothers Sticking Together
The champions are now 10-1 in three tour-level appearances as a team. In 2018, they lifted an ATP 500 trophy in Vienna. Salisbury has won eight tour-level titles, and Skupski has claimed six.
“It’s been an amazing week. We’ve really enjoyed San Diego. Me and Joe, off the court we’re good friends and I think we gel together on the court,” Skupski said. “We’ve really enjoyed playing with each other this week.”
The Britons dominated on serve in the Match Tie-break, making all eight of their first serves and winning all of those points. That took the pressure off and Skupski finished off the victory with a big serve down the T that Polasek was unable to put back into the court.
“Obviously a great week for us. Going into it the goal was to win the tournament, but we didn’t know what to expect. We hadn’t played together for three years,” Salisbury said. “We maybe played our best tennis at the end of some of the matches, which is great. Really happy to get the title.”
Peers and Polasek became a team earlier this year, and they have found their stride. The Australian-Slovakian team made the US Open semi-finals and reached their first final together in San Diego.
All eyes were on Jannik Sinner Sunday, when the Italian successfully defended his Sofia Open title and lifted his third trophy of the season. But during the trophy ceremony, the champion was quick to recognise his opponent, Gael Monfils.
“Gael, great week. Unlucky in some moments today, but we’ve had some great fights, some great matches. Obviously congrats to you and your team,” Sinner said. “Tennis needs you, it really needs you.”
The Frenchman has been one of the most entertaining players on the ATP Tour for more than 15 years thanks to his high-flying game. But he entered last week’s ATP 250 event in Metz with a 9-13 record on the season. Monfils did not win consecutive matches until Toronto in August and his FedEx ATP Ranking slipped from the Top 20 for the first time in a year-and-a-half.
“It’s not easy to be honest, to have no crowd,” Monfils said after the Sofia semi-finals. “It’s not something that I like to do.”
Watch Sofia Final Highlights:
The 10-time ATP Tour titlist has been open throughout the COVID-19 pandemic about it being tough for him to compete with limited fans or no fans at all. The Frenchman loves to thrill crowds with his stunning defence and jaw-dropping shotmaking, including leaping smashes like he hit against Sinner in Sunday’s final.
But over the past two weeks, Monfils has shown signs of his vintage form. The 35-year-old advanced to his first tour-level semi-final of the season in Metz and went one step further this week in Sofia by making the final.
“It’s always great to put yourself in that position,” Monfils said. “To have the chance to maybe lift another title.”
Monfils fell short, and is still pursuing his first tour-level crown since Rotterdam last February. But he has now advanced to at least one final in 17 consecutive seasons.
“It means that I’ve been playing for a long time. That’s first of all,” Monfils said, cracking a laugh. “It means that somehow every year, once in the year I could pull out one final or two.
“It’s strange, to be honest, to have that. But I’m proud of it and hopefully I can have many more years.”
Monfils, who was back up to World No. 20 this week and is projected to climb again on Monday, is still a dangerous opponent for anyone. He will try to show that at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, where he is a two-time quarter-finalist.
“I’m going to keep working. Obviously every tournament is different,” Monfils said. “Hopefully I will have a great feeling to start Indian Wells.”
Spain’s Garbine Muguruza wins her second title of the year after fighting back to beat Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur in Chicago.
#NextGenATP Italian Jannik Sinner’s love affair with the Sofia Open continued on Sunday as he overcame second seed Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-4 to defend his title in Bulgaria and boost his chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals.
The top seed hit with consistent depth and power against Monfils as he pinned the Frenchman behind the baseline to triumph after 79 minutes and improve to 3-1 in their ATP Head2Head Series.
“The level was high today,” Sinner said in his on-court interview. “We had long, long rallies and it was physical as well. I am happy to be the winner here in Sofia again. I think it is a very nice tournament. It was the best match [I have played this week] because I had to.”
With his victory, Sinner will rise to 10th in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin on Monday as he bids to qualify for the season finale on home soil. The Nitto ATP Finals will be held at the Pala Alpitour in Turin from 14-21 November.
[FOLLOW ACTION]The 20-year-old, who lifted his maiden tour-level trophy in Sofia last November, now holds a 9-0 record at the ATP 250 event and is the first player to become a two-time champion at the tournament.
“It is never easy playing against Gael, we’ve had many tough matches,” Sinner added. “I think in the crucial moments I was a bit luckier than him, which helped me a lot.”
It is the third tour-level title the Italian has won this year. Sinner lifted the trophy at the Great Ocean Road Open, before he captured the crown at the Citi Open to become the youngest player to win an ATP 500 event since the category was created in 2009.
Sinner made a fast start against Monfils as he found his range from the baseline, breaking the Frenchman’s serve to race 3-0 ahead. Despite Sinner making only 47 per cent of his first serves in the opening set, the Italian was ruthless when he found his first delivery, winning 93 per cent (13/14) of points behind it as he moved ahead.
The 20-year-old continued to dictate in the second set, causing Monfils problems with his flat backhand and heavy forehand. Sinner, who did not drop a set en route to the title, sealed his victory when Monfils fired a forehand long.
Monfils was competing in his first tour-level championship match since he triumphed in Rotterdam in February 2020. The World No. 20 has reached an ATP Tour final for 17 straight seasons.
Jonny O’Mara and Ken Skupski captured their maiden tour-level doubles title as a team on Sunday, overcoming third seeds Oliver Marach and Philipp Oswald 6-3, 6-4 in the Sofia Open final.
The British tandem were teaming for the first time this week since they reached the quarter-finals in Sofia last year. They produced a strong performance against Marach and Oswald, breaking three times and hitting five aces to secure their victory after 77 minutes.
[FOLLOW ACTION]It is the second title O’Mara and Skupski have won at all levels, after triumphing at an ATP Challenger Tour event in Mouilleron Le Captif in 2018.
O’Mara, 26, has now won three tour-level doubles trophies, while Skupski has captured seven titles at this level. The 38-year-old clinched the Acapulco crown in March with brother Neal Skupski, who is competing in the San Diego Open final with Joe Salisbury on Sunday.
Austrians Marach and Oswald saved two match points in their semi-final victory and were aiming to win their second ATP Tour title as a team, after lifting the trophy in Gstaad in 2017.