Casper Ruud nearly lost to Jaume Munar, then "stayed in it" to reach Dallas final

FRISCO, Texas—Casper Ruud needed a little more time to warm down on the bike Saturday after walking away with a dramatic semifinal win at the Dallas Open.

The No. 2 seed was two points away from becoming the third seeded player to be tripped up by Jaume Munar this week, before the Spaniard blinked with the match on his racquet.

“It was 2.5 hours of pretty tense play. The last set was quite long. If you sweat a lot, you need to get some fuel back in the system and do your recovery well,” Ruud told TENNIS.com after surviving, 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (4).

“I'm proud with the way I stayed in it. It's not every day you're able to turn a match like this around and be on the winner’s side of it.”

At last month’s Australian Open, Munar pushed the three-time major finalist to five sets and though he’s now 1-4 against the Norwegian, his victory previously came on outdoor hard at 2022 Tokyo. The matchup has developed into one that requires digging deep to gain the upper hand.

Today was no different, with each competitor forcing the other side to adapt. Net rushes were employed by both Ruud and Munar, with the world No. 5 having to trust his tactics after being burned on several occasions when he came forward.

“He's a really tough player because he moves really well, he reads the game well and he's able to come up with really good passing shots from defense. It makes it tricky,” Ruud assessed. “You're hesitating when you're coming in because you know that he can pull up some incredible passing shots and he did, especially in the second and third.

“Unfortunately for him and fortunately for me, stumbled a bit when he was serving for it. I just tried to make him play every point and see what he would do, how he'd react to me putting a lot of balls in. I know what it's like to feel the pressure a little bit when you're serving for it. You're one game away, but still those four points can be quite far away sometimes.”

I'm proud with the way I stayed in it. It's not every day you're able to turn a match like this around and be on the winner’s side of it. Casper Ruud

A sold-out crowd inside Ford Center at the Star added to the intensity of the battle. While there had been occasional shouts of Ruud’s name during his first three matches, Saturday’s audience committed to chanting “Ruuuuud!” throughout the contest.

“It's not the first time I've heard it, but it's fun. It's sounds like they're booing, but hopefully they're just saying, ‘Ruuuuud!’” smiled the 27-year-old.

“And there are a few others. For example, golfer Matt Kuchar, they say “Koooooch!’. Even with Mats Zuccarrello, the Norwegian hockey player, they also go ‘Zuuuuuch!’ So it's not an uncommon thing in the States. I guess they like it.

“Even if they are booing, I can just pretend that they're saying Ruud.”

In 2024, Ruud celebrated his first ATP 500 trophy when he triumphed in Barcelona. Eleven of his 12 career titles have come on clay. That said, he’s now reached the final in five different U.S. cities and just one of those tour stops presented red dirt as the surface.

“I just wonder where the fifth is. Here, Miami, Houston, New York and…

I interject, “San Diego.”

“Yes, of course. It was a one timer, but that's my only title on a hard court, so I should have remembered that! I would love to have another title here in America. It's been a really cool tournament here for the first time.”

An evening of treatment, stretching, more cooling down and a massage awaits Ruud as he gets set to face a red-hot Denis Shapovalov. And a well-deserved dinner, of course.

“There’s been some really nice restaurants around here, so I'll try to enjoy some good food and go to sleep quite early. It's going to be fairly early tomorrow for a final, so will do everything I can for one last day here in Dallas.”