BUENOS AIRES: Casper Ruud of Norway beat home-crowd favorite Diego Schwartzman 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 on Sunday to win his second Argentina Open.
“It feels very good to have the trophy back in my hands,” said Ruud, who was the tournament's top seed and won the first of his six professional titles at the 2020 Argentina Open. Ruud is No. 8 in the world.
About 5,000 fans came to the court to support Schwartzman, an Argentinian who is ranked No. 15 in the world and won last year's Argentina Open.
Schwartzman pushed Ruud to win the first set. But Ruud's power and precision prevailed from the second set on. The match was 2 hours and 34 minutes long under blazing sun.
The 23-year-old Norwegian has never lost at the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club, holding a record of 9 wins and 0 losses.
Ruud overcame Spain’s Roberto Carballés Baena and Argentinians Federico Coria and Federico Delbonis to reach the final. Schwartzman bested Spain’s Jaume Munar, Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo and Italy’s Sonego to play the decider in Buenos Aires.