Ruud suffers early exit in Tokyo

Casper Ruud suffered a first-round exit at the Japan Open after losing 7-6(3), 6-3 to Luciano Darderi in Tokyo.

The Norwegian, seeded sixth at the ATP 500 event, was unable to find his best level against the Italian, who claimed his first career victory over a top-10 opponent.

Darderi edged a closely contested opening set in the tie-break, winning it 7-3 after neither player managed to establish a clear advantage.

The Italian then made the decisive move early in the second set, breaking Ruud to take control of the match. Darderi protected his advantage and completed the victory in straight sets.

The result is a significant win for the 23-year-old Darderi, who is ranked 20th in the world. He will face Kyrian Jacquet in the second round after the Frenchman defeated Holger Rune 6-3, 6-1.

Ruud's elimination is part of a surprising opening day in Tokyo, with several seeded players also crashing out. Taylor Fritz, Brandon Nakashima and Holger Rune were among the other notable first-round casualties.