A year ago, Casper Ruud had just cracked the top 30 in the rankings. (More Tennis News)
Look at him now.
As the eighth and final qualifier for the ATP Finals, the 22-year-old Norwegian has joined top-ranked Novak Djokovic, No. 2 Daniil Medvedev and No. 3 Alexander Zverev in the semifinals of the elite season-ending event.
And he's done so in style.
Ruud showed off aggressive tactics in the decisive tiebreaker and served an ace on his second match point in a 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5) victory over Andrey Rublev in his final round-robin match on Friday to secure his unexpected spot in the last four.
The fifth-ranked Rublev had beaten Ruud in all four of their previous matches.
바카라I can thank my arm that I was able to hit an ace on match point, because I was so nervous,바카라 Ruud said.
Ruud will next face Medvedev, the U.S. Open champion and the defending champion of this event, which is being played in Turin for the first time after 12 years in London.
Djokovic and Zverev will renew their budding rivalry in the other semifinal Saturday.
바카라Even though I'm the fourth guy I don't consider myself the fourth-best player in the world,바카라 Ruud said.
바카라Tomorrow will be a fun day 바카라 probably the biggest match of my career.바카라
Later, round-robin play concluded with Djokovic beating British alternate Cameron Norrie 6-2, 6-1 in a mostly meaningless match. Norrie replaced the injured Stefanos Tsitsipas, who is ranked No. 4.
바카라I played well tonight from the first to the last point," Djokovic said.
"That's definitely encouraging for the next match tomorrow, which will be tougher.바카라
