The first quality of a great player? The head, the clarity to take full advantage of your chances by taking advantage of favorable situations, especially by heading towards the important points without fear. Matteo Arnaldi proved this and much more today at the Masters 1000 in Madrid with a magnificent 6-3, 6-4 win over Casper Ruud (No. 4 in the world) sensationally opening the doors for him to the third round. Ruud is objectively a very distant relative of this tough, very solid and powerful tennis player, capable of two Grand Slam finals in 2022, but that doesn’t detract from the Blues, who has played tactically flawless from the first point, extremely solid and continuous game . “Arna” shone in his own light, he didn’t “just” take advantage of the Norwegian’s mistakes. He was very good at capitalizing on them and, above all, provoking them thanks to his speed on the pitch, his ability to find corners and played effectively and clearly throughout the hour and a half of the game. Not a bad choice, not a badly managed moment of tension. Almost perfect at taking the opponent’s “disasters” and shining with great quality shots. Fast, excellent with the forehand, precise at angles with the backhand, Matteo ended up with 35 winners and just 13 penalties, numbers that explain the kind of super performance he was capable of.
Update
The record
Arnaldi begins with the match serve. He pushes without fear and at 15 he wins an excellent game. Good start to the match for Ruud too, feet close enough to the baseline and ready to command with the forehand. 1 even. Casper attempts to backhand pin Matteo by forehand pressing outward from the left. He gets a couple of points and a blue error sentences him to 30-40 and a break point on defense. He invents a second serve so external that it opens a prairie for him, with the Norwegian returning from a long deficit he’s good at following her to the net and taking the point. Also a nice short ball, a good start for “Arna”, 2-1. The match will be played on the Ligurian’s ability to break away from the pressure with Ruud’s forehand, a compulsion Matteo curbs with some difficulty; Sometimes he manages to move his rival on the line with his backhand or to risk at great speed at the limit of his speed. The fourth game goes in favor, Arnaldi finds a nice backhand pass and then pushes the Norwegian through with a squeeze that earns him the break point. Well done Matthew! Take a risk on the return, advance and cause the error in the rival’s praise. PAUSE Arnaldi, 3-1 and service, excellent personality of the young Italian to face such a strong opponent without fear. Casper shifts gears, realizing he’s taking serious risks if he lets blue take the initiative too much. He’s playing more and more intensely and deeper, he takes the 15-40 by force, two chances for an immediate counter-break. Very good Arnaldi, wins forehand and then an ace to break the second lead, still using an extremely backward position from Ruud. Another ace also destroys his rival’s third chance. Unfortunately, the counterbreak comes for the fourth time, this time the Norwegian finds a really deep response full of spin that surprises the blue. 3-2 Arnaldi but now Ruud is needed who hits all 3 and keeps pushing in response to put pressure on the Blues who commit two consecutive double faults from 40-30. Here comes Casper’s chance to overtake. Still nothing before “in” for Arnaldi, who follows her to the net at great risk … and closes on the fly! What courage, but Ruud literally answers from the plans, even the second ones, an elusive choice, the result of just a lack of confidence. With a gorgeous drop on the counter, Matteo goes 4-3. The Blue didn’t have much luck in the eighth game: he flies 0-30 in reply, at 15-30 he suffers a wrong call from a linesman while controlling the change, then a winner from Ruud by nothing with the “falcon”, who reverses the call. The mistakes of a fouling Ruud still cost him three break points, but he saves himself with his service and forehand. THE BREAK for Arnaldi comes at a fourth chance, the Norwegian’s volley was poor. 5-3, the blue is needed for the first set. Casper expresses his frustration by throwing a ball into the stands after making another mistake. Arnaldi thanks him, flies 40-0 and finishes with a long answer at the first point in the sentence. 50 minutes to the absolutely deserved 6-3. Amid too many mistakes and bad decisions from Ruud, Arnaldi played with quality and intensity, taking risks and leading the game. Good boy!
Second set, Ruud is electrified in the first game, missing everything and collapsing 0-40. Arnaldi is accurate with his backhand across the board, a great winner that earns him an instant BREAK with his tenth straight point won. Matteo must capitalize on this self-destructive streak of his rival, who continues to unknowingly shoot left and right. He almost seems to want to run away from the field and from himself when he conceded the 14th lost point in a row to the 2-0 Arnaldi. Cold Matteo, he feels the positive moment and tries not to make a mistake. On the contrary, Ruud continues to make mistakes, trailing 0-30 and still not winning a point of the set. Another right flies away, 0-40. Finally a point win again, the series of 17 lost points in a row is broken. He wins three, destroying the Blues’ three chances at double range. With 5 points in a row, Ruud remains 1:2 behind. A burst that puts Casper back in play but luckily doesn’t distract Matteo, who is very good at serving well, anticipating with the forehand and finding tight corners with the backhand. Arnaldi 3:1. Despite the many mistakes, the Norwegian is back on track, he’s now doing his shifts, he’s let off steam and is back on the gas. The set advances in service shifts, the blue one is pushing well, ready to push and most importantly, not letting his rival take the initiative. Letting him feel his presence on the pitch is the antidote to a comeback. Matteo is very quick to take two steps forward and close with the forehand (20 winners in the match with the shot so far) or even a smash at the net. Tactically flawless “Arna” after 1 hour and 20 minutes of play. In the eighth game, Arnaldi commits the third double fault of the game, the score is 30 all. Here, Blue feels the tension, and Ruud feels it, using his forehand to press down hard on Matteo’s backhand, who only finds the corridor. Attention, stopping point for Casper. How well Arnaldi plays it! Forward and final flight, by the way with an excellent hand. Perfect choice to not leave the opponent any space like on the forehand in the next bounce and then on the ace that takes him to 5-3. What a test for Matteo to react at the critical moment and make the right choice. It is a flood river “Arna”, reacts quickly, enters the field and finds a great winning forehand, it is 0-30. Two points from the game! Ruud reacts angrily, takes the points to 4-5. Now the light blue is used to complete the quest. Arnaldi doesn’t tremble, serves well, pushes with the forehand and advances to take the 4 points that put him in the third round of the 1000 in Madrid. Great, great match, a clear, deserved win. A dream, yes, but conquered with really effective and continuous tennis. From his entry into the top 100, Matteo has shown that he has what it takes to keep growing and become a major tournament tennis player. Good boy!!!
[3] Kasper Ruud 
vs [Q] Matthew Arnaldi 
ATP Madrid
Kasper Ruud [3]3
4
Matthew Arnaldi6
6
Winner: Arnaldi
4 aces 6
2 DOUBLE FAULTS 3
40/63 (63%) FIRST SERVE 35/64 (55%)
26/40 (65%) FIRST SERVICE POINTS WON 28/35 (80%)
23.10. (43%) 2ND SERVICE POINTS WON 16.29. (55%)
6/9 (67%) STORED BREAKING POINTS 6/7 (86%)
9 SERVICES PLAYED 10
7/35 (20%) 1ST SERVE RETURN POINTS WON 14/40 (35%)
29.13. (45%) 2ND SERVE RETURN POINTS WON 23.13. (57%)
1/7 (14%) BREAKPOINTS CONVERTED 3/9 (33%)
10 RETURN MATCHES PLAYED 9
15.6. (40%) NET POINTS WON 14.12. (86%)
20 WINNER 32
13 UNFORCED FAULTS 9
36/63 (57%) SERVICE POINTS GAINED 44/64 (69%)
20/64 (31%) RETURN POINTS GAINED 27/63 (43%)
56/127 (44%) TOTAL POINTS GAINED 71/127 (56%)
213 km/h TOP SPEED 208 km/h
196 km/h 1ST SERVICE AVERAGE SPEED 185 km/h
171 km/h 2ND SERVICE AVERAGE SPEED 157 km/h
