If the German, recent winner of the Masters 1000 in Paris, pockets a set against the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz on Friday in his last group match, he will win his ticket to the last four, whatever the result of his match against the no. 3 worldwide.
Ruud, who beat Alcaraz 6-1 7-5 to enter the competition, can also continue his journey in the event of success on Friday against the Russian Andrey Rublev (8th), outclassed on Wednesday by Alcaraz 6-3 7-6 (10/ 8), and defeat of the Spaniard.
For their reunion after their semi-final at Roland-Garros won by Zverev in four sets, the German and the Norwegian achieved an almost perfect first set on serve, without any break points.
In the decisive game, while he had until then been very solid on his throw, Ruud broke down and let Zverev take off to lead 6-1. The German won the set with a forehand winner after 50 minutes of play.
We had to wait until the eighth game of the second set to see Zverev offer himself his first break point, an opportunity that the world No. 2 did not miss to lead 5-3. He then definitively KO Ruud with a shutout on his serve.
Swiss
