What Casper Ruud told himself before saving match points to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas

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Casper Ruud booked his spot in the Madrid Open quarter-finals with a dramatic 6-7, 7-6, 7-6 win over Stefanos Tsitsipas.

The Norwegian fought back from two match points down late in the third set, breaking Tsitsipas back to level things up and force a tiebreak.

Ruud took control in the decider, winning it 7-3 to finish strong. The Norwegian’s ability to raise his game under pressure made all the difference.

Speaking after the match, Ruud revealed what was going through his mind before saving those crucial match points:

Casper Ruud reflects on what drove him to save match points vs Stefanos Tsitsipas

Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

Following the match, Ruud spoke about whether he was frustrated by his missed opportunities to convert break points throughout the contest.

“I was frustrated, because I knew, I knew I had many, there were a couple of games where I had 0-40, 15-40, and I felt like he served big at all of them, and that’s the way it goes, too good, well done by him, serving himself out of it,” said Ruud.

“I think I had one or two second serves where I had the point in play, but you move on and just hope that you get one more break point, and luckily I did.

“It was nice to see, obviously you don’t hope for mistakes out of your opponent’s racket, you want to see great tennis but when you’re on a break point to stay in the match you kind of hope for an unforced error and luckily he did.”

“At 5-5 in the third set this is why we train hard. This is why we love this sport for these moments. So really happy to be able to step up there.”

Ruud made nine consecutive wins at Madrid Open after his remarkable comeback against Tsitsipas.