Casper Ruud gets cold-hearted revenge on Stefanos Tsitsipas in Barcelona

Casper Ruud accomplished quite a bit on Sunday at the Barcelona Open. He got revenge on Stefanos Tsitsipas after the Greek handled the Norwegian in the final of the Monte-Carlo Masters a week ago. Ruud was going for his first Masters 1000 title in Monte-Carlo but failed in straight sets. Tsitsipas was also the hotter player heading into the Barcelona final as he had won 10 straight matches on clay.

Ruud not only put an end to Tsitsipas's personal run but Ruud set a personal best by winning the ATP 500 events. Though he had won 10 titles in his career to date, he had never won a tournament higher than an ATP 250 event. Sometimes he appears to have almost too much calm on the court, and maybe some questioned his drive to take big matches, but Ruud's poise helped him steal Barcelona.

That and a fantastic and consistent backhand. Normally, Ruud's forehand is his weapon of choice. Knowing this, Tsitsipas tried to wear Ruud down with pace to his backhand, but the Norwegian came up with winner after surprising winner on his way to a straight-set victory 7-5 6-3.

Casper Ruud serves Stefanos Tsitsipas a cold dish at the Barcelona Open

Ruud is going to be a real threat at the French Open as well. He should have confidence at Roland Garros. The Norwegian has the most tour victories on clay since 2020 with 103. No other player has more than 77. Ruud has also reached the finals of the French Open in each of the past two years, losing only to all-time greats Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

Ruud's win-loss percentage for his career is also much higher on clay. On grass, he is only 4-6. He is 100-69 on hard courts, but he is 128-47 on clay and nine of his 10 career titles are on the surface. He will have zero fear against any other player on clay and he has earned the right to feel fearless.

With the victory, Casper Ruud will hold on to his ATP No. 6 ranking. He jumped four spots last week from 10 to 6. Stefanos Tsitsipas will remain at No. 7.

Neither player is really a threat to move into the top five at this point, however. Alexander Zverev is No. 5 and slightly more than 1,100 points clear of Ruud. No. 4 Daniil Medvedev is nearly 3,000 higher than Ruud. Still, should Ruud take the 2,000 points the winner receives by winning the French Open, Ruud could be a top five player by the end of summer.

More tennis news and analysis