WATCH: Casper Ruud hilariously attempts to shoot down disruptive drone after it brings his Estoril Open SF against Pedro Martinez to a halt

Casper Ruud's semifinal match against Pedro Martinez at the Estoril Open 2024 on Saturday, April 6, witnessed a drone interruption in the opening game of the second set.

Ruud had already lost a set to Martinez when he came across another enemy in the form of a drone flying high above the Estadio Millennium. Ruud, for a moment, turned his entire attention toward the off-court enemy and projected a couple of powerful forehands at the drone.

The Norwegian drew applause from the crowd for his effort but failed to solve the problem. The chair official then assured everyone present that the drone would be removed as soon as possible as the authorities were trying to get in touch with the pilot.

Several photographs and videos of the incident have been doing rounds on social media platforms, including X (formerly Twitter).

Watch Casper Ruud hilariously trying to shoot down the drone in the video below:

Ruud notably went on to win the second set but Martinez prevailed over him in the third to secure a berth in the final. He broke the defending champion four times in the Saturday battle that lasted for more than three hours.

This 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win against the Dane was Matinez's first victory against a Top 10 player. In the summit clash, he will take on Poland's Hubert Hurkacz, who defeated Cristian Garin in his semifinal effort.

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Casper Ruud heads to Monte-Carlo Masters 2024 after Estoril Open disappointment

Casper Ruud

Casper Ruud will fly to Monaco for the Monte-Carlo Masters 2024 after the disappointing end of his Estoril Open campaign. It will be Ruud's fifth attempt at the Monte-Carlo trophy.

Ruud's first appearance in the main draw of the ATP 1000 event in 2017 ended quickly as he lost to Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 6-4 in the first round itself. He then returned to the event four years later and recorded his best performance to date by ending as a semifinalist after faltering against Andrey Rublev.

In 2022, the 25-year-old bettered Holger Rune in the opener only to lose to Grigor Dimitrov in the third round. His journey at the Monte-Carlo Masters in 2023 ended in a similar fashion as he went down to Struff in the third round after having overcome Botic van de Zandschulp.

Casper Ruud has entered the main draw as the third seed this year and is already through to the second round, courtesy of a bye in the first.