Casper Ruud downs Alexander Shevchenko to reach ATP Bastad quarter-finals, Alexander Zverev sets up Andrey Rublev tie

Casper Ruud beat Alexander Shevcenko at the Swedish Open to reach the quarter-finals, while Alexander Zverev defeated Thiago Monteiro.

Ruud is aiming for his 11th tour title and was dominant throughout as he took 79 minutes to claim a 6-2 6-4 victory over his opponent in the ATP 250 event on clay.

“I am very happy to win. It was tough here for me last year, losing in my first match, so to get a win is good, in front of a Scandinavian crowd,” Ruud said afterwards. “It was very difficult with the wind today, conditions were a bit challenging but I was able to do good enough.”

Ruud will face Austria’s Sebastian Ofner in the quarter-final after he defeated Bernabe Zapata Miralles 4-6 6-4 6-4.

Zverev beat his Brazilian opponent 6-1 6-0, needing just 61 minutes to complete his victory.

The German will move onto the quarter-final, the fifth time he has reached this stage of an ATP Tour this season, to play second seed Andrey Rublev.

Rublev, the world No. 7, defeated Pavel Kotov 6-3 7-6(4) in an exacting, 93 minute match-up.

Rublev reached the semi-finals in Sweden last year, but in Zverev he faces a player who has a 5-1 lead over him in their head-to-head record.