Acapulco, Mexico. Fourth-place Casper Rudd lost to Taro qualifier Daniel 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (5) in a Round of 16 match at the Mexico Open on Wednesday.
For Daniel, this victory was the first in the game against a player from the top 10 and took him to the quarterfinals. 30-year-old Daniel, ranked 125th in the ATP rankings, played 0-8 against players from the top 10.
Prior to defeating Ruud, Daniel’s best victory was over Novak Djokovic at Indian Wells in 2018 when the Serbian finished 13th.
Ruud was ranked 2nd after losing in the last US Open final to Carlos Alcaraz. Against Daniel, the Norwegian made 46 unforced errors and slipped to 3-4 in 2023.
Daniel will try to extend his successful streak against Alex De Minor, who beat Jacopo Berrettini 6:1, 6:0.
In other matches on Wednesday, Frances Tiafoe beat Feliciano Lopez 6-2, 7-6(6) and will face Taylor Fritz, who defeated Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 6-4.
In addition, Mackenzie McDonald edged out Brandon Nakashima 6-2, 6-0 and will take on Tommy Paul, who reached the quarterfinals when Michael Mmoh retired in the second set and Matteo Berrettini edged out Elias Ymer 6-3, 6-3.
Rudd, who placed fourth, lost to the qualified Daniel in Acapulco. originally appeared on NBCSports.com
Source: sports.yahoo.com
