Indoor or outdoor, it hardly made a difference as Casper Ruud stamped his class to give Norway a 1-0 lead against India in the Davis Cup World Group I tie in Lillehammer on Friday.
Ruud, the 23-year-old sensation from Oslo, needed little more than an hour to swat away the challenge of Prajnesh Gunneswaran 6-1, 6-4 in the opening singles at Lillehammer's Halkon's hall. India's hopes of levelling the tie then rested on Ramkumar Ramanathan, who faced Viktor Durasovic in the second singles. The crucial doubles and reverse singles are set for Saturday.
Some of the pre-match talk had centred on whether Ruud, who had had an amazing run to the US Open final where he finished runner-up to Spain's Carlos Alcaraz. But Ruud provided another proof of the golden tennis adage - that when the conditions vary, better players adapt better. The conditions hardly mattered in the end as Ruud raced off the block for a 5-0 lead in the opening set.
