Emil Ruusuvuori deployed his powerful forehand to great effect on Tuesday at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha, where the Finn took out sixth seed Daniel Evans 7-5, 6-4 with a clean-hitting display at the hard-court ATP 250.
Ruusuvuori and Evans each broke to love in their opening return games of the first-round clash, setting the tone for an entertaining encounter packed with all-court exchanges. However, the Finn used his forehand to frequently dictate the longer rallies throughout his one-hour, 53-minute victory, which he clinched with the only break of the second set in the 10th game.
“I’m very happy,” said Ruusuvuori post-match. “I really enjoyed being on court, I thought I was improving every game and just playing better and better tennis. He was giving me a tough time, he’s a great player, and I’m just very, very happy to get through this match.”
Ruusuvuori entered the match having won just one of his previous eight matches against Top 30 opponents, but he struck 26 winners, including seven aces, to move past the No. 29-ranked Evans in style.
“He’s a tricky player,” said Ruusuvuori of Evans, who he was playing for the first time. “He plays a little bit different than most of the guys in the Top 50 or Top 100. He has a great slice and great tactics. I just needed to figure out the way and serve well, and put the pressure on him, and in the end, I was able to.”
The Finn will next face Jiri Lehecka, a 6-3, 7-6(3) winner against qualifier Damir Dzumhur.
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Fifth seed Roberto Bautista Agut also advanced with a 7-6(7), 5-7, 6-4 win against Marton Fucsovics, saving a set point in the first-set tie-break with a wicked drop volley. In the decider, the Spaniard claimed the crucial break in a four-deuce return game to lead 4-3 before wrapping up the win on his third match point.
Earlier on Tuesday, Dutchmen Botic van de Zandschulp and Tallon Griekspoor also progressed to the second round.
The eighth-seeded Van de Zandschulp converted five of nine break points en route to a 6-2, 7-5 win against Ilya Ivashka. The 27-year-old is now 4-0 in opening rounds in 2023 and will look to reach his second tour-level quarter-final of the season in his next match against 2021 Doha champion Nikoloz Basilashvili or qualifier Alexandre Muller.
The World No. 40 Griekspoor, who reached the semi-finals on home soil at the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam last week, held off Quentin Halys for a 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(5) victory. Griekspoor crashed 51 winners in his two-hour, 17-minute triumph, which earned him a second-round meeting with top seed Andrey Rublev.
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