Barcelona, 19 April 2024 – The feat fails Matteo Arnaldi which stops in the quarterfinals of the tournament ATP 500 in Barcelona. The Sanremo was beaten by Casper Ruud, who thus avenged the defeat on the red clay of Madrid last year. However, for the blue it remains an excellent tournament, which once again brought out the great potential of the 23-year-old ready to play a leading role in the clay season.
From 36th place in the live ranking, Arnaldi could reach 32nd place in the event that he manages to get through the second round at the Spanish Master 1000. Casper Ruud for his part confirms the growth highlighted in recent weeks and after the Montercarlo final, in which he was defeated by Stefanos Tsitsipas, is a candidate to lift the trophy of the Catalan tournament.
The match started badly for Arnaldi who immediately went down 2-0 with a break suffered in the second game. The Ligurian’s reaction, however, arrives immediatelybreaking Ruud’s serve thanks especially to the reverse. At this stage the match becomes foul, with errors on both sides and a new break from the Norwegian with Arnaldi unable to defend his turn at serve. At 3-1 in favor of Ruud, however, there is a new break, the fourth in just five games, thus arriving at 3-2 after another game full of inaccuracies, particularly on the part of the Scandinavian. The Italian serves again, managing to win the first service points of the match and taking the lead at 3-3. The set continues with Ruud leaving Arnaldi at zero in the seventh game, taking the lead again with the Ligurian who however immediately responds to the Norwegian to gain a draw again at 4-4. At this point comes the turning point of the first set, with Ruud first closing a game to zero and then starting to push with his forehand closing the score at 6-4.
In the second set the Scandinavian started again strong, defending his serve, as did Arnaldi, quickly reaching 2-1 for the twenty-five year old top ten in the ATP ranking. However, the Italian continues to show himself combative, alternating solutions at the net with his own power backhand. Ruud, however, did well, despite the errors, to still maintain serve and lead the match after an hour and 12 minutes of play. Arnaldi for his part continues to have moments of great clarity, with shots of class but also of make too many mistakes, which thus sees the Norwegian reach the first break of the second set at 4-2. The next game was also easy, until Arnaldi’s reaction for the 5-3 which extended the match. The Ligurian would also have the possibility of staying in the game but wastes 4 break points, with the first match point on the lead at 40 all which was instead caught on the fly by Ruud who closed the match. He finishes 6-4, 6-3 in favor of the Scandinavian who in the semi-final he will face Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
