Round of 16: Ruud firmly in rhythm

Indoor hard courts may not be the stage on which Casper Ruud performs his finest tennis, but the Norwegian has so far delivered a near-perfect performance in Paris.

In the final match of the evening session, Ruud produced another commanding display to dispatch the ever-dangerous Jan-Lennard Struff, 6-3, 6-3 in just 1h03.

The German can be a formidable opponent on fast hard courts when his serve is firing. The problem was that his first serve never really found its rhythm on centre court (the match had initially been scheduled for court 1 before being moved following Matteo Berrettini's withdrawal).

Ruud, by contrast, was extremely solid throughout. He served brilliantly, firing eight aces, controlled rallies with authority and mixed in several superb passing shots and delicate touches, including a magnificent lob to seal the opening set.

In complete command from start to finish, the Norwegian even added one final break in the last game of the match to wrap things up after just over an hour on court. This marks the second time that Ruud has reached the quarter-finals of the Rolex Paris Masters, following his run in 2021. And he has done so without dropping a single set.

The world No.23 will head into the next round as the favourite to reach the semi-finals. But he would be wise not to underestimate Nuno Borges, the tournament’s very lucky loser, who continues to surprise everyone.