Third seed Casper Ruud edged past Dennis Novak 6-4 7-6 (7-5) after 1 hour and 38 minutes in his opening match at the Swiss Open in Gstaad to reach the quarter finals.
Ruud won 89% of his first service points and did not face a break point.
Ruud admitted that his goal is to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.
Ruud earned the crucial break in the 10th game to win the first set 6-4. The second set went on serve with no break points en route to the tie-break. Ruud earned an early mini-break to win the tie-break 7-5.
“It is something you look to qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals. It shows you have been one of the best players on Tour. It is definitely something I am aiming for, and if it happens this year, that will be amazing in tennis, you need to take your chances and earn your way up. I have an incredible motivation to play on clay, especially after the cancellation of clay events last season. I think I am playing with a high intensity and good mentality on every point. At this level, it is nnormally a couple of points that decide a match”, said Ruud.
