Barcelona Open: Casper Ruud earns straight sets win over Stefanos Tsitsipas in final
Casper Ruud won his first title of 2024 as he beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets to win the Barcelona Open.
Norwegian third seed Ruud defeated the Greek fifth seed 7-5 6-3 to claim the biggest title of his career.
It is the first time the 25-year-old, who is ranked sixth in the world, has won an ATP 500-ranked event.
"For me it means a lot, this is my biggest title that I ever won," said Ruud.
"It's something I've chased for a long time already. I've never won a 500 before or a 1000. I've been to a few finals but always came up a little bit short."
Ruud, a three-time Grand Slam runner-up, was broken early by the 25-year-old Tsitsipas but broke back in the sixth game, before going on to convert one of two set points at 6-5.
He then opened up a 4-1 lead in the second set after Tsitsipas hit a forehand into the net to concede a break, before seeing out victory in 91 minutes to end the Greek's 10-match winning streak.
The win also avenged Ruud's defeat by Tsitsipas in last week's Monte Carlo Open final.
Elsewhere, Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff earned a straight sets win over American Taylor Fritz to win the BMW Open in Munich.
Fourth seed and home favourite Struff beat the third seed 7-5 6-3 to secure a maiden ATP Tour title at the clay-court ATP 250 event.
