World No. 3 Casper Ruud admitted that playing in Asia was probably a mistake.
Last week, Ruud competed at the inaugural Korea Open in Seoul, where he suffered a shock quarterfinal defeat to Yoshihito Nishioka.
This Tuesday, first-seeded Ruud exited the Japan Open in Tokyo following a shock first-round defeat to 58th-ranked Jaume Munar.
After going just 1-2 in Asia, Ruud said he probably made a scheduling mistake.
“I probably made a mistake scheduling this events in Asia. I’m playing too many tournaments,” Ruud said, per Jose Morgado.
After round 1 losses in Astana and Tokyo.
Alcaraz. “I have to learn from matches like this. Court is too slow it was tough to adapt”.
Ruud. “I probably made a mistake scheduling this events in Asia. I’m playing too many tournaments”
ā JosĆ© Morgado (@josemorgado) October 4, 2022
Ruud suffered a shock defeat to Munar
The two players were tied to one game apiece before Munar claimed back-to-back breaks and won four games in a row to take a 5-1 lead in the first set.
Down by two breaks, Ruud managed to get one break back in the seventh game and to cut the deficit to 5-2.
In the eighth game, Ruud saved three set points and further cut the deficit to 5-3.
But Ruud’s attempt to steal the first set fell short after Munar served out for the opener in the ninth game.
After winning the first set, Munar broke Ruud in the very first game of the second set.
Down by a set and a break, Ruud had break points in the fourth and sixth games but again just didn’t convert.
In the ninth game, when Ruud was serving to stay in the match, Munar earned his fourth break to complete a two-set win.
“I think it’s one of the best [wins of my career],” Munar said post-match. “Casper is a great player. We all know that maybe this is not his best surface, not even mine. But I managed to play the tennis I needed to play today. I think it wasn’t a great match but from my side I did what I needed to do. Very happy to be through. Casper is one of the best players in the world right now.”