Japanese, Daniel Taro surprise upset eliminating Norwegian, Ruud

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  • The Japanese qualifier scores one of the biggest wins of his career.
  • Casper Ruud still can’t get past a second round this season

Acapulco, March 1st – Japan’s Taro Daniel scored his first victory against a Top 10 player by surprisingly defeating second-seeded Norwegian Casper Ruud 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(5) after almost three hours of play in the second round of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC.

Ruud had taken an early lead in the first set, 3-0, but then errors began to creep in. Daniel regained the break and when Casper was serving to secure the tiebreak, the Japanese broke to secure the first set.

The Norwegian seemed to adjust what was necessary to return to his best version. He never gave up his serve again and broke Daniel on a couple of occasions to send the match to a definitive third set, just like his first round match against Argentina’s Guido Andreozzi.

In the third set, the match went to a tiebreaker, although Taro Daniel had to save two match points with his serve. Ruud could not capitalize the options he generated in the return and kept the Japanese alive with his errors.

The final tiebreak was similar to the set that preceded it, as there were no mini breaks until it was Ruud’s turn to save a match point. With a new error, he left the ball in the net, handing the victory to a fierce and dreamy Taro Daniel.

The Japanese player arrived in Acapulco to play in the qualifying round, and now he will have the opportunity to reach the semifinals of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC. Taro Daniel’s opponent in the quarterfinals will be Alex De Minaur, who eliminated Jacopo Berrettini.

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