Ruud stays perfect in Roland Garros openers

Casper Ruud wasted no time making a statement on Monday at Roland Garros, where he extended his perfect record in opening rounds to 8-0.

The two time finalist put an end to Albert Ramos-Vinolas’ career at the clay-court major with an impressive 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 first-round victory. Ruud, runner-up in Paris in 2022 and 2023, hit 34 winners en route to a second-round meeting with Portugal’s Nuno Borges.

“It was a tough match against Albert, we played many times together,” said Ruud, who improved to 5-3 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head with the Spaniard, who is set to retire this season. “In the beginning of my career, he was always beating me, so I had a lot of work to do to get some revenge.

“Even though it was straight sets, every game was tough against him. It’s amazing to start Roland Garros again, it’s been some incredible years, the past three years. Yesterday was also spectacular with Rafa’s tribute. It was a very nice way to start the tournament.”

While he was not present to watch Rafael Nadal’s emotional farewell tribute live on Sunday, Ruud was watching from afar while the 14-time champion was presented with a permanent plaque on Court Philippe-Chatrier. Having lost to the Spaniard in his maiden Grand Slam final at Roland Garros in 2022, Ruud is well placed to talk about his lasting imprint at the tournament.

“The Philippe-Chatrier Court is like Rafa’s backyard,” said Ruud. “When you step in there, he can toy with you, he can do whatever he wants it seems like. Yesterday, when they put the [plaque] on the court, it was a very nice moment. It proves to everyone that it’s [his] playground.

“His record will stand unbeaten for many years to come, if not forever. 14-0 in finals, 14 titles, it’s just incredible. I don’t even know how to explain how crazy it is.”

Ruud claimed the biggest title of his career last month at the ATP Masters 1000 in Madrid, and is among the contenders for the second major of the season. With his two-hour, six-minute victory on Monday, the 26-year-old improved to a 24-7 tournament record, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.

The former No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Ruud boasts the most tour-level wins on clay (129) since the start of the 2020 season. This year in Paris, he is seeded to set a quarter-final meeting with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, who leads their Lexus ATP Head2Head series 4-1.

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Sebastian Korda and Alexei Popyrin also sealed their spots in the second round on Monday. Korda, who reached the fourth round on debut in 2020, defeated Luciano Darderi 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, while Popyrin led Yoshihito Nishioka 7-5, 6-4, 1-2 before the Japanese retired.