After scoring two break factors within the opening recreation, Ruud was the primary to interrupt after a flurry of stray balls from his opponent.
Though Alcaraz continued to attempt to discover the sector, he had an opportunity to equalize within the subsequent recreation however in the course of the break he noticed his forehand deflected into the online.
Two extra possibilities adopted however Ruud braved the hazard and was rewarded for his willpower when Alcaraz once more headed the ball out of bounds for the double break.
Ruud made it a love set with an ace, solely the second set he took from Alcaraz – who hit 18 unforced errors and made lower than 50% of his forehands.
However the Spaniard reset within the second set, dropping only one level in his first three video games earlier than breaking for the primary time.
He regarded set to battle again to stage the match however Ruud fought again – incomes himself two break factors with a lob on the baseline, solely needing one as Alcaraz hit a backhand.
As Alcaraz’s stage continued to slide, a rejuvenated Ruud – who was simply two factors away from shedding the set – broke once more earlier than profitable with an ace for his third match level, capping a run of 5 straight video games.
Alcaraz and Ruud are joined in John Newcombe’s Group by German Alexander Zverev – two-time ATP Finals champion – and Russian Andrey Rublev, who performs in Monday’s night session from 19:30 GMT.
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