For a man who has a lot on his mind this week, Casper Ruud is looking extremely focused each time he steps onto a tennis court.
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Late on Thursday, Ruud moved into the third round of Australian Open 2026 with an impressive performance to get past the stubborn and much-improved Spaniard Jaume Munar.
While waiting round the clock for news from his wife Maria, who is back home expecting their first child any day now, Ruud managed to concentrate on the day job long enough to win 6-3 7-5 6-4 inside a chilly Margaret Court Arena.
Again it was straight sets for the three-time Grand Slam finalist, and again he went through without dropping serve to record a seventh win at all levels over his good friend and regular training partner.
“All in all it was a good match against a player I know very well and who knows me,” said Ruud, who plays 37-year-old Croat Marin Cilic in the third round on Saturday.
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“We trained a lot together for many, many years in Rafa Nadal’s academy and we’ve played each other quite a few times as well on tour.
"I came out with good intensity and good feeling. Three close sets and they all went in my favour, so I’m very happy.”
The former world No.2 revealed prior to the tournament that as soon as his wife goes into labour, he will leave Australia immediately to be by her side. After the victory, on-court interviewer Andrea Petkovic asked for the latest news.
“I’m going to check my phone right away when I get off court to see if something has happened,” Ruud laughed.
“Everything is well. They’re both healthy, they had a check yesterday so we’re still in the clear. Let’s see what the next days and weeks bring.”
The Norwegian world No.13 played well in the important moments, striking 35 winners in nearly two-and-a half-hours on court to move into the third round at a major for the first time since 2024.
It will be especially satisfying after the improvements Munar made to his hard court game during 2025.
The Spaniard collected 22 tour-level wins on the surface last season – more than the previous five seasons combined – after overhauling his coaching set-up, developing a more aggressive game style and undergoing a mental reset.
An early break when Munar missed a volley in the fourth game gave Ruud the upper hand, and he wrapped up the first set on his sixth set point after some impressive resistance from the world No.39 from Mallorca.
After making less than 50 per cent of his first serves in that opening chapter, Munar knew his level had to be better, and he fought hard to stay alongside his higher-ranked opponent until the 11th game of the second set.
Serving at 5-5, Munar could only watch as Ruud placed a backhand pass onto the junction of the sideline and baseline to bring up break point, and the 12th seed ripped a big inside-in forehand to leave him serving at 6-5. That was enough to earn him a two-set lead.
More pressure followed for Munar, who couldn’t control a deep Ruud return in the third game of the third set when yet again he found himself break point down.
Although he had chances to break back immediately, Munar couldn’t convert any of those opportunities and they were the last to come his way.