Casper Ruud extended his perfect streak in ATP Masters 1000 quarter-finals on clay to 7-0 on Thursday at the Mutua Madrid Open, where he fought past an attack-minded Daniil Medvedev.
The Norwegian rebuffed Medvedev’s assertive approach with a confident display of his own to prevail 6-3, 7-5 and reach the semi-finals. Medvedev fired 23 winners and advanced to the net on 23 occasions, but Ruud remained resolute to seal a one-hour and 39-minute victory.
“I looked at our stats last night and saw he beat me on grass, outdoor hard and indoor hard. The last surface was clay so I thought ‘Please don’t make it 4-0’,” said Ruud. “I tried to use the surface to my advantage. I thought the level was pretty good from both players, I was impressed with Daniil’s ability to produce power here on clay.
”Today it felt like he was decisive and firing from the forehand, he hit some great winners. He didn’t bring what I expected.”
“I came here after a tough defeat in Barcelona… I worked a little bit with myself and especially the mental aspect,” Ruud added. “I think I am coming into the tournaments with a better version of myself. I’ve been playing with good intensity [in Madrid] and I would like to keep it going. There has been a fire missing lately, so I am happy to bring it here in Madrid.”
He will next continue his quest for a maiden Masters 1000 trophy against the winner of Thursday afternoon’s quarter-final between 20th seed Francisco Cerundolo and 19-year-old Jakub Mensik.
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