At last month’s Australian Open, Munar pushed the three-time major finalist to five sets and though he’s now 1-4 against the Norwegian, his victory previously came on outdoor hard at 2022 Tokyo. The matchup has developed into one that requires digging deep to gain the upper hand.
Today was no different, with each competitor forcing the other side to adapt. Net rushes were employed by both Ruud and Munar, with the world No. 5 having to trust his tactics after being burned on several occasions when he came forward.
“He’s a really tough player because he moves really well, he reads the game well and he’s able to come up with really good passing shots from defense. It makes it tricky,” Ruud assessed. “You’re hesitating when you’re coming in because you know that he can pull up some incredible passing shots and he did, especially in the second and third.
“Unfortunately for him and fortunately for me, stumbled a bit when he was serving for it. I just tried to make him play every point and see what he would do, how he’d react to me putting a lot of balls in. I know what it’s like to feel the pressure a little bit when you’re serving for it. You’re one game away, but still those four points can be quite far away sometimes.”
