Casper Ruud eases past Sebastian Korda to reach Last 16 of Madrid Open

MADRID: Casper Ruud beat America's Sebastian Korda 6-3, 6-3 to make it to the Last 16 of the Madrid Open here at the Caja Magica on Monday.

The Norwegian started the game strongly, leading 3-0 in the first set, but Korda retaliated to level it 3-3 only for Ruud to seal the set by winning the next three games in a row.

The second set went to 3-3 again, but Ruud won the match in the end by finishing the second set with a powerful forehand shot.

With this win, Ruud has recreated history, as 26 years ago, their fathers, Christian Ruud and Petr Korda, also faced each other in the Miami Open in 1999. Rudd won that match 6-2, 7-6, a stat that surprised world number 15.

“Honestly I thought he had lost to Petr before, so I was out here seeking revenge for the family, but this is an even better statistic for us,” Ruud said.

“We’ll try to keep it alive for as long as possible. It’s fun that you see certain situations like this where father and son have played and are doing well.

“I’m sure Sebi and I will play many more times in our career and I’ll try my best to keep him behind me but at some point, I’m sure he’ll catch up or get a win over the Ruud family.”

Ruud will now play American Taylor Fritz in the next round. Fritz beat injury-hit Benjamin Bonzi in the Round of 32.