Dallas Open: Ruud through to semi-finals via Nishioka retirement

Norwegian Casper Ruud, the second seed, moved into the semi-finals of the Dallas Open when Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka retired due to a shoulder injury on Friday evening at the Ford Center at The Star.

Ruud, ranked No 5, led 7-5, 3-2 when Nishioka, ranked No 67, withdrew.

Despite the unfortunate ending, Ruud took some time to assess the match.

“He started off firing from all cylinders, except I felt from early on he didn’t have the same pace on the serve as he normally does. Maybe something was bothering him a bit, from the baseline he’s one of the tougher players to play – hitting with a flat ball – moves great, he’s a lefty as well so it’s the opposite of what you’re used to. I’m happy with the way I came back in the first set, fought my way back and played a great game at 6-5.”

“I’m just here to have fun, it’s my first time in Dallas – the stadium is quite big, it’s nice to see a lot of people here. When I play loose, it’s when I play at my best. If I’m in a negative mindset or feel like I’m stressing, it’s hard for me to perform my best.”

The Norwegian will play Spaniard Jaume Munar next.

Casper Ruud won against Australian lucky loser James Duckworth (7-5, 4-6, 6-2) and American qualifier Michael Mmoh (6-1, 6-4) earlier in the tournament.

In the previous rounds of the Dallas tournament, the Japanese defeated American Brandon Nakashima (6-4, 7-6 (6)) and American Frances Tiafoe, the No 5 seed (3-6, 6-4, 6-3).

Dallas ATP 500, other last eight results (Ford Center at The Star, hard, USD 2.760.000, most recent results first):

• Denis Shapovalov vs. Tomas Machac
• Tommy Paul vs. Reilly Opelka
• Jaume Munar beat Matteo Arnaldi (8): 6-4, 3-6, 6-3