Pablo Carreno Busta clinches first ATP 500 trophy in Hamburg

Spaniard Carreno Busta eased past Filip Krajinovic in straight sets to win the Hamburg European Open title.

Pablo Carreno Busta celebrates his title in Hamburg; Credit: Twitter@atptour
By Karthik Raman | Jul 18, 2021 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Second seed Pablo Carreno Busta capped an impressive week, winning his first ATP 500 trophy and sixth tour-level title on Sunday. The Spaniard overcame Filip Krajinovic 6-2, 6-4 in a largely one-sided Hamburg European Open final. Carreno Busta, who also won the AnyTech365 Andalucia Open on home soil in April, did not drop a set in Hamburg. “It’s an incredible feeling,” Carreno Busta said in an on-court interview. “I think that I worked very, very hard to finally win this title. It’s my first ATP 500 title.”

In a dominant performance in the final, Carreno Busta won 81 per cent (21/26) of his first-service points and broke Krajinovic three times. He has now recorded 17 clay-court wins this season after reaching the semifinals at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell and the Mallorca Championships. Notably, this is the first time he has won two clay-court titles in a season. After losing in the first round of Wimbledon to Sam Querrey last month, he has come back strongly this week.

Brisk start for Carreno Busta

Earlier, Carreno Busta made a strong start, forcing the Serbian from side to side as he dictated play in the first set. The Spaniard broke twice and hit 17 winners with his powerful groundstrokes. In no time, the 30-year-old closed out the opening set to win it 6-2.

The second set followed a similar pattern as Krajinovic was pegged behind the baseline. With the Serbian struggling to find answers, Carreno Busta broke again. The Spaniard then held his serve to seal the dominant victory in 83 minutes. “Maybe at the end of the match I was very nervous,” Carreno Busta said. “But I served good, so [that] was very important to finish the match.”

“I felt very comfortable during the whole week from the first match,” Carreno Busta said. “I think that I played very good and I continued improving during the week. That’s very important and today in the final I probably played the best match of the tournament.”

On the other hand, sixth seed Krajinovic, who was competing in his fourth ATP Tour final on Sunday, praised his opponent. “I would like to congratulate Carreno, you were too good today. You deserved to win,” Krajinovic said. “It’s my fourth final, I still didn’t win [one]. But I hope it will come one day.”

Casper Ruud wins Nordea Open final

Top seed Casper Ruud eased past Federico Coria 6-3, 6-3 in the Nordea Open final on Sunday to bag his third ATP Tour title. Ruud dictated the play on his forehand throughout the match as he sealed the win in one hour and 28 minutes. It is the second title he has won this year, having captured the Gonet Geneva Open title in May.

“It was an incredible week, maybe the best week of my life,” Ruud said. “It is an incredible feeling playing here in Bastad with the Swedish, Norwegian and Danish support. There is nothing like that home crowd feeling. To win here means a lot.

“You get a little extra nervous as the No. 1 seed. Me and my father [former World No. 39 Christian Ruud] have been joking about when I am going to beat him at this and this, and now I think I have beaten him in everything! The Ruud family can finally bring the trophy home to Norway. It is a special feeling having him here with me.”