Casper Ruud suffers shock defeat in Olympics warm-up

Thiago Monteiro overcame Casper Ruud in the 2024 Swedish Open at the Bastad Tennis Stadium on Wednesday, giving the Norwegian’s Olympics preparations a hit.

The world No.85 was the +400 underdog ahead of the round-of-16 match, while second seed Ruud was favoured to go through at -666.67 with tennis betting sites.

However, the Brazilian won in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, to stun the former world No.2.

Ruud’s Swedish dreams meet an abrupt end following strong start

Ruud came to Sweden as one of the heavyweight players in the ATP 250 event, and his Swedish sojourn started with an expected victory.

Playing alongside Rafael Nadal, he cruised to victory in the opening round of the men’s doubles two days ago.

In the singles, however, he could match the intensity of Monteiro.

The 30-year-old dominated Ruud’s service games, breaking his opponent’s serve three times.

In contrast, Ruud failed to convert any of his break-point opportunities, only managing to create one throughout the entire match.

Ruud bravely defended two break points in the opening game, but Monteiro refused to be deterred.

The world No.85 kept on pressuring his Norwegian counterpart, and he eventually reaped the rewards.

Two successful break points brought Monteiro the bragging rights in the opening set, and he held on to the momentum in the second.

Monteiro was in control throughout as he picked up another easy victory in the second set and booked a place in the quarter-finals.

Title race opens up in Sweden

Ruud came into the Swedish Open as the strong favourite to lift the trophy.

The Norwegian was priced at +175 with Bovada to go all the way, with Andrey Rublev (+333) and Rafael Nadal (+350) on his trail.

Nadal is now the +180 outright favourite ahead of his quarter-final clash with Cameron Norrie (+700) on Thursday.

Ruud still holds the sixth line of betting heading into the Olympics in 10 days’ time, returning +1200 to lift his first medal.

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