Tennis Dec 08, 2025

Alex De Minaur becomes first person to win three Ultimate Tennis Showdowns after defeating Casper Ruud in London

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By Admin
Sports Journalist
Alex De Minaur becomes first person to win three Ultimate Tennis Showdowns after defeating Casper Ruud in London

Alex De Minaur fought back after losing the first quarter to defeat Norwegian Casper Ruud to secure an Ultimate Tennis Showdown hat-trick.

Ruud confidently took an early lead, striding out to 4-0 before the Australian attacked, but it wasn't enough from De Minaur as Ruud was able to secure the first quarter 15-11.

However, losing that first quarter awoke 'The Demon' De Minaur as he dominated the rest of the match, leading throughout all the remaining quarters.

He took the win with scores of 11-15, 15-10, 15-11, and 16-7 to win a UTS title in London for the second consecutive year, also adding to his win in Antwerp in 2020.

Ruud's opening game of the tournament saw him face the most recent UTS champion from Hong Kong, Francisco Cerundolo and despite being a slight favourite, he lost in sudden death.

He made it beyond the group stages as the runner-up of his group but he was set to face world No 16, Andrey Rublev in the semi-finals.

Rublev was the only player to have gone undefeated in the group stage and quickly inflicted his confidence against Ruud, taking the first quarter 17-9.

However, Ruud came back to win the second quarter in a tighter battle before both players won another quarter again each, leaving them both with two wins apiece.

So Ruud found him yet again in another sudden death, this one however went his way, eventually taking the win 9-17, 15-11, 7-17, 17-11 [2-0].

De Minaur's opening match, however, was very different as the Aussie showed his skill as the only top-10 player in the tournament and took a 13-12, 16-6, 11-12, 14-12 win against Adrian Mannarino.

He did however also progress to the semi-final as group stage runner-up, where he faced Ugo Humbert, an indoor-hardcourt specialist.

Although, Humbert didn't cause De Minaur much trouble as he soared to his most convincing victory of the tournament, winning 15-13, 18-13, 18-9.

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