Ruud provides early Team Europe lead in Cerundolo rematch

In a rematch of their Laver Cup opener of two years ago in Berlin, Casper Ruud gave host Team Europe an early 1-0 advantage on Friday thanks to a 6-7(4), 6-4, 10-8 turnaround against Team World’s Francisco Cerundolo at The O2 in London.

Ruud, 27, was playing the tournament’s opening match for a fifth time, facing the only player to defeat him on the Laver Cup singles court. He got his revenge on Day 1.

“I have to thank my team and my bench,” said Ruud, a nod to his Carlos Alcaraz-led rooting section. “They pushed me all the way. They kept me in it, really. It was tough to lose that first set. Europe can build on this.”

“It was a great start for us. Every point on the board is important. I knew that,” he added. “Even though I was down one set to love, I felt, ‘Let’s try to pull this one out for the team and get a point on the board’. It’s never over until it’s over. Being a match tiebreak in the third makes you even more maybe willing to really fight to win at least one set to get it into match tiebreak.”

The Argentine Cerundolo looked to be in control of the match and perhaps on his way to a straight-sets victory, but serving at 4-all in the second set, the 28-year-old baseliner couldn’t dig himself out of a 0-40 hole. The nervy two-hour, six-minute match would come down to a 10-point Laver Breaker, and the three-time Grand Slam finalist Ruud didn’t waste his opportunity.

Though Ruud would finish with 33 unforced errors to just 15 winners, he stepped up when it mattered most.

“I wasn’t finding particularly my second-serve returns that well,” said Ruud. “I had a plan to try to go around and play as many forehands as possible, and I wasn’t able to get around the ball exactly how I wanted. I mishit a few and I hit a few long, a little bit uncharacteristic. When I play my best, I don’t do those mistakes. So it was somewhat nervy, a little bit rusty. Hopefully, a win like today can show me that even without my perfect tennis, I can fight through matches and win against good players.”

Cerundolo is a member of Team World for the fourth consecutive year, and now owns a 3-2 mark in singles.

“It felt like he was pushing water uphill, because Cerundolo was impressive. But once he got into the 10-point tiebreak, anything can happen,” said Team Europe Vice-Captain Tim Henman. “I think it emphasizes that it’s not always about how you start, it’s how you finish.”