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Botic van de Zandschulp acknowledged that Casper Ruud probably missed out on his third-set chances and he gladly accepted the Norwegian's mistakes. Van de Zandschulp, ranked at No 32 in the world, upset fourth-ranked Ruud 3-6 6-4 6-4 in the Miami Masters third round.
Van de Zandschulp, 27, registered his first top-5 win by beating Ruud in Miami. "It was an unbelievable tough match. He had so many chances in the third set. When I broke back for 3-2 I was holding and had a feeling that I had a chance in his service games.
At 5-4 I had one opportunity and I took it," van de Zandschulp said after the match.
How van de Zandschulp beat Ruud?
After missing out on six break points in the fourth game, Ruud managed to get first break in the eighth game and serve out for the first set in the following game.
In the 10th game of the second set - when Ruud was serving to stay in the set - van de Zandschulp earned his first break of the match and sent the match into a decider. After losing the second set, Ruud started the third set with a 2-0 lead and he also had two break points in the third game but failed to go up by a double break.
Van de Zandschulp punished Ruud for his missed opportunities as he broke the Norwegian in the sixth and 10th games to overturn the deficit and complete a three-set win. Ruud also had break points in the seventh and ninth games that he didn't convert.
For Ruud, it was yet another very disappointing performance. After beating Ilya Ivashka in his Miami opener, he was hoping that one win would help him turn his season around. But after recording a straight-set win over Ivashka, Ruud didn't manage to deliver against van de Zandschulp, in a match where he was the favorite to win.