Ruud has won three ATP 250 clay tournaments this year (Buenos Aires, Geneva, Gstaad), reached the final of the Masters 1000 in Miami for the first time and played his first two Grand Slam finals at Roland Garros and the US Open.
Although he did not celebrate his first major triumph, he climbed up the world rankings to world number two and qualified for the ATP Finals for the second time. Last year, despite an opening defeat, he reached the semi-finals, and this year he took an important step to advance out of the group in the first match.
In the opening match of this year's tournament in Turin, the Norwegian tennis player defeated Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime, a year younger than him, 7-6 6-4. Ruud didn't face a break point, and he took the only chance to break in the second set.
Ruud's best performance since the US Open
"I think this was my best performance since the US Open. I've been struggling a little bit the last couple of months, but you have to accept it. You face tough challenges during your career and this period maybe was one of them... It doesn't matter how well you train if you don't win matches, so today is a great win for me," Ruud said.
"Félix got into great shape in the fall and I knew it was going to be tough. But I played well, I found a great level of my game, so I'm very happy for the way I entered the tournament. I knew that if I was going to have a chance against anyone here, I had to bring my 'A-game'. And today I did it."
"I got off to a great start, which I needed. The next match will be tough no matter who I play against. But at least I have one win in my pocket. I don't want to put any stress on myself, so I won't count anything and just focus on the next two matches. And hopefully I can carry my game today into them," Ruud added.
Auger-Aliassime qualified for the Finals for the first time in his career after a season in which he won his debut title on the ATP circuit and added three more indoor trophies in the autumn. During October, he won three tournaments in three weeks and went on a 16 match winning streak.
Ruud will face Fritz or Nadal in his next match
Ruud on Tuesday will face the winner of tonight's match between American debutant Taylor Fritz and Spain's Rafael Nadal, who is playing here for the 11th time, and could potentially end the season as world No.1. Auger-Aliassime will face whoever loses.
