Casper Ruud defeated struggling Carlos Alcaraz in straight-sets on Monday, November 11, to begin his ATP Finals campaign in Turin.
As per BBC Sports, Ruud secured a 6-1, 7-5 victory to claim his 50th win of the season.
Meanwhile, in a disappointing performance, Alcaraz made 34 unforced errors and suffered his first loss to Ruud in five encounters.
Ruud suggested that Alcaraz was struggling with a cold during the match.
After winning the match, Ruud said, "It's only one match but it's definitely one of the best wins of the season for me.”
The Norwegian sixth seed added, “I feel very happy. I think we've all seen Carlos play better tennis than he did today but I took care of my chances.”
"I've not been oozing with confidence in the last weeks or months so it was a great win for me and hopefully I can build on it,” the player further added.
Alcaraz and Ruud are part of the John Newcombe Group alongside German Alexander Zverev, a two-time ATP Finals champion, and Russian Andrey Rublev, who will compete in Monday’s evening session.
Alcaraz has won 16 ATP Tour-level singles titles, including four major titles and five Masters 1000 titles, while, Ruud has won 12 ATP Tour singles titles.
