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Tag: Emil Ruusuvuori

  • Davis Cup: Finland’s Ruusuvuori, Virtanen give hosts 2-0 lead towards India

    There was no urgency in his stroll to the baseline. No signal of fear both when he was dealing with a set level – as a substitute there was a wry smile on Otto Virtanen’s face. His motion, even throughout lengthy rallies, was languid. He wore a baseball cap backwards so as to add to the nonchalant manner. He was the underdog, with nothing to lose.
    Ranked 419 on the planet, up towards World No 165 Prajnesh Gunneswaran, Virtanen was enjoying the opening match for Finland within the World Group 1 Davis Cup tie towards the Indians. Serving at 5-6, 30-40 – set level for Prajnesh – within the second set, Virtanen, with the identical air of nonchalance, walked to the baseline and hammered down his ninth ace of the match. A couple of minutes later, he closed out the match for a shock 6-3, 7-6(1) win.
    A few hours later, Emil Ruusuvuori made it 2-0 for the hosts with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Ramkumar Ramanathan.

    ????2???0??????@EmilRuusuvuori closes out Ramanathan 6-4 7-5 to make it two-for-two for the hosts towards India!#DavisCup pic.twitter.com/DjRbRAiJ2d
    — Davis Cup (@DavisCup) September 17, 2021
    In their first-ever tie towards the Finland within the Davis Cup, India was handed a troublesome problem on the Espoo Metro Areena, round 30 km from Helsinki. The hosts have World No. 74 Ruusuvuori, the highest-ranked singles participant within the tie. So, the guests have been concentrating on 20-year-old Virtanen, enjoying in solely his second Davis Cup tie, for 2 out of the three factors they should advance.
    It additionally helped the Indian trigger that their No. 1 would play Virtanen first within the hope {that a} win may put scoreboard stress on 22-year-old Ruusuvuori within the second match.
    But the aggressive teen, the son of former Finnish Davis Cup participant Pasi Virtanen, got here up with an early shock. He broke Prajnesh’s serve within the sixth recreation of the match and by no means let go of the lead thereon. It was the one break of the match, however Virtanen did have one other seven alternatives to interrupt serve once more. Five of these have been saved when Prajnesh was serving at 4-4 within the second set.
    Rising to the event
    On his personal serve, Virtanen confronted simply two break factors –saving each, together with the large flat ace large when dealing with set level.
    “It was a combination of him coming up with the goods in the big moments, and me not doing enough,” says Prajnesh after the match.
    “It was a pretty good match from Otto. He served pretty well today, didn’t give away any free points. Played pretty well when he had the lead.”
    India did have a slight benefit from the draw with Prajnesh enjoying first. But they have been all the time operating the chance of the left-hander not being at his greatest. The 31-year-old from Chennai has struggled with wrist accidents all through this season, and it has affected his type as effectively.
    “I’m not playing my sharpest, considering the fact that I’ve had injuries and not played too much. But every player goes through that at some point. That’s not an excuse for not being able to find a way today,” he says.

    Photos from the observe session right now morning that includes Ramkumar Ramanathan and Saketh Myneni
    Photos courtesy @siyer30 sir / @TennisFi pic.twitter.com/SAZWb4kNC8
    — Indian Tennis Daily (@IndTennisDaily) September 17, 2021
    “I didn’t do what I needed to today. Few loose games here and there. I feel like I didn’t convert on some of the close situations.”
    Virtanen although, held his personal moderately effectively. He had a 73 p.c first serve share (55/75) – together with 10 aces – in comparison with Prajnesh’s 58 p.c (40/69). His service remained unbroken all through the match, together with the tie-breaker he went on to win 7-1 – the place Prajnesh dedicated 4 unforced errors.
    In solely his third Davis Cup match, the teen from Hyvinkaa has picked up the most important win in his profession over a participant as soon as ranked as excessive as 75 on the planet.
    Ruusuvuori makes it 2-0
    Ruusuvuori in the meantime held off Ramkumar within the first set that noticed each gamers wrestle to search out their vary. They traded breaks early, earlier than Ruusuvuori managed to get the decisive break within the tenth recreation of the set to go 6-4.
    They began to carry their serves higher within the second set, however Ramkumar, serving second, was once more damaged on the most important stage within the match. Ruusuvuori dispatched a backhand-down-the-line return winner to earn the one break within the second set to assert it 7-5 and provides Finland a 2-0 lead.
    On Saturday, the veteran duo of Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan will begin proceedings in the one doubles match of the tie towards Henri Kontinen and Harri Heliovaara.

  • Flying Finn Ruusuvuori greatest menace for India in Davis Cup tie

    Austria led Finland 2-1 in a Davis Cup World Group Playoff tie in 2019 when Dominic Thiem stepped on courtroom. The World No. 5 was the largest identify within the tie – a two-time French Open finalist on the time – as he ready to face a little-known participant named Emil Ruusuvuori. This was the primary time the teen was up in opposition to a high 10 participant. But that made little distinction to him as he pulled off a 6-3, 6-2 upset.
    On paper, Austria was anticipated to run away with the tie. They finally gained 3-2, however solely after a deciding set tie-breaker within the fifth match. And it reached that far solely due to Ruusuvuori’s heroics.
    “That was a long day, and I didn’t expect it,” Austrian captain Stefan Koubek was quoted as saying.
    Ruusuvuori had already been turning heads by his progress up the charts. He began 2019 ranked 402 and completed it at 121. But it was on the Espoo Metro Areena – a facility used primarily for ice hockey – the place he picked up his profession’s greatest win. On Friday, now ranked 74, he’ll take to the identical courtroom when he leads the Finnish cost in opposition to the travelling Indians for a Davis Cup playoff spot.

    The 22-year-old was simply 5 when he began taking part in tennis. He was launched to the game when a neighborhood coach noticed him taking part in badminton together with his mom close to their dwelling in Helsinki. Now he’s the highest-ranked singles participant that may characteristic within the tie this weekend.
    The match-up was initially scheduled for September final 12 months however was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In the interim, Finland’s spearhead managed to interrupt into the highest 100 for the primary time in his profession and has by no means fallen again into three digits for over every week. And there’s no shock in his upward trajectory.
    Big recreation hunter
    Ruusuvuori reached the semi-finals of the Nur Sultan ATP occasion final 12 months, and likewise made the last-four stage of ATP occasions in Winston-Salem and Atlanta up to now few months. And Thiem has not been his solely top-10 scalp.
    In March, competing in his first-ever ATP 1000 Masters, he got here from behind to upset then World No. 7 Alexander Zverev in Miami. It was a match that noticed the Finn’s potential to seamlessly change technique. In the primary set, he tried to redirect Zverev’s firepower. When that didn’t work, he began to fluctuate his recreation. His made liberal use of topspin, slice and drop photographs. He began to strike the ball early as effectively, giving Zverev much less time to react, and got here to the online usually to complete off factors.
    Pulling off a comeback win – after dropping the primary set – is one thing he’s carried out in opposition to each the Indian gamers he’s more likely to face this weekend. He beat World No. 187 and India No. 3 Ramkumar Ramanathan 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 after they met at a Challenger occasion in Canberra final 12 months. Earlier this 12 months, Ruusuvuori beat India No. 1 Prajnesh Gunneswaran (ranked 165) 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 on the Washington DC ATP occasion.
    In between the 2 matches, he was even invited to coach with Rafael Nadal through the 2020 low season.
    A change in Davis Cup guidelines final season ended the zonal segregation in Group 1. Which is how India, a workforce that will play within the erstwhile Asia/Oceania group, may draw Europe’s Finland. India had usually been robust within the zonal Group 1 levels – they’ve reached the World Group Playoffs for the previous seven years. The Finns, nevertheless, would be the strongest workforce they’ve come up in opposition to within the group stage in that point.
    And Ruusuvuori is the largest participant they’d have confronted at this stage of the competitors.