© Swiss Open Gstaad/Christian Collet
Casper Ruud defeats Dennis Novak to reach the quarter-finals on Thursday in Gstaad.
The third seed will next face either Benoit Paire or Tallon Griekspoor
Third seed Casper Ruud continued his strong clay-court form on Thursday as he moved past Dennis Novak 6-4, 7-6(5) in his opening match at the Swiss Open Gstaad to reach the quarter-finals.
The Norwegian, who claimed his second ATP Tour title of this season last week at the Nordea Open (d. Coria), won 89 per cent (17/19) of his first-service points and did not face a break point in a dominant display. He will next play either sixth-seeded Frenchman Benoit Paire or Tallon Griekspoor.
Ruud struck the ball well throughout from the baseline, hitting with great depth as he moved the Austrian about. He found the decisive break in the 10th game of the first set to move ahead and raised his level in the second set tie-break to advance in one hour and 38 minutes.
The 22-year-old has now won 21 clay-court matches this season and rose to 10th place in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin after winning the trophy in Bastad last week. He is aiming for a third ATP Tour title of the year this week, having also clinched the Gonet Geneva Open (d. Shapovalov) in May.