Casper Ruud moves into top 5 in rankings after semifinal run in Montreal

Montreal, Aug 15 (IANS) Casper Ruud's standout 2022 continued with a semifinal run in Montreal that saw the Norwegian move into the top 5 in the ATP rankings, released on Monday.

It was Pablo Carreno Busta who lifted the trophy at the National Bank Open and the Spaniard's maiden ATP Masters 1000 crown, powered him back into the top 20.

Ruud's run to his first semifinal at the Canadian Masters 1000 event featured contrasting wins against Roberto Bautista Agut and Felix Auger-Aliassime. The Norwegian rallied for a hard-fought three-hour, 17-minute third-round triumph over Bautista Agut before dashing home hopes in style with a 6-1, 6-2 quarterfinal win against Auger-Aliassime. Hubert Hurkacz proved too strong in the semifinals, but Ruud rose two spots to No. 5 in the ATP Rankings.

A dream week for Carreno Busta saw the Spaniard reel off a series of high-quality wins to clinch his maiden Masters 1000 crown. Matteo Berrettini, Holger Rune, Jannik Sinner, and Jack Draper were all dispatched in straight sets by the 31-year-old before he showed his mettle in deciding sets against Daniel Evans and Hubert Hurkacz to lift his first tour-level trophy of the season. Carreno Busta jumps nine spots to No. 9 in the ATP Rankings.

Daniel Evans' charge to his second Masters 1000 semifinal in Montreal lifted him 16 spots to No. 23 in the ATP Rankings, just one shy of his career high. The Briton's strong showing in Canada included upset wins against Andrey Rublev and Taylor Fritz and a dramatic three-set comeback win against Tommy Paul, before the semifinal defeat to eventual champion Carreno Busta.

One of the in-form players on the ATP Tour, Nick Kyrgios notched his second career victory over a World No. 1 by taking out Daniil Medvedev in the second round in Montreal. The Australian was ultimately undone by a huge serving performance from Hubert Hurkacz in the quarterfinals, but Kyrgios rose nine spots to No. 28 in the ATP Rankings and has been outside the Top 100 as recently as March.

A breakthrough week at Masters 1000 level for Draper, who qualified for his tournament main draw debut in Canada before claiming his maiden Top 10 win by defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets in the second round. The Briton climbed 27 spots to No. 55 in the ATP Rankings following his quarterfinal run in Montreal, where his journey was ended by the inspired Carreno Busta.