Two-time French Open finalist Casper Ruud saved match point en route to a morning semifinal win over Flavio Cobolli in Geneva, before returning a few hours later and saving a set point against Novak Djokovic’s conqueror Tomas Machac in the finale – a fitting warmup before his latest trip to Paris.
Ruud riding high into Roland Garros
French Open 2024, men’s singles
Casper Ruud vs. [7] vs. Felipe Meligeni Alves [Q] on Tuesday
Norwegian projected to face Taylor Fritz in round four
HEAVY rain was the catalyst for a stacked Saturday schedule but Casper Ruud adapted all the same, winning consecutive matches in a six-hour span to seize a third Geneva Open title in four seasons as his French Open prep ran smoothly this week.
The 25-year-old responded well after a sluggish start in his morning matchup against Italy’s rising talent Flavio Cobolli, eventually coming up clutch and winning 1-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-4) after saving a match point down 5-4 in the deciding set.
Ruud’s 2024 season so far
R3 at Australian Open, beaten in four sets by Cam Norrie
Los Cabos (ATP250) finalist, lost to Jordan Thompson
Acapulco (ATP500) runner-up, defeated by Alex de Minaur
Indian Wells (ATP1000) quarterfinalist, lost in three sets to Tommy Paul
Miami (ATP1000) last-16, bested by Nicolas Jarry
Estoril title defence (ATP250) ended by Pedro Martinez in semis
Monte-Carlo (ATP1000) finalist, history-maker Tsitsipas beat him
Avenged Tsitsipas loss in Barcelona (ATP500) to clinch title
Felix Auger-Aliassime beat him in Madrid (ATP1000) last-16
Stunned early in Rome (ATP1000) by Miomir Kecmanovic, R2
Won a trio of three-set matches en route to Geneva title (ATP250)
Then against Djokovic’s surprise conqueror Tomas Machac, he saved a set point at the same stage of their encounter – the Czech double-faulting in a pressure situation.
Unfairly deemed a 250-level master, former world no. 2 and two-time runner-up Ruud will look to go one better than his achievement at the French Open in consecutive seasons – having lost handedly against childhood idol Rafael Nadal, then a draining three-set tussle with Novak Djokovic twelve months ago.
Main-draw matches begin on Sunday at Roland Garros, where their trend as the only Major tournament where an extra day was utilised has now been copied by the Australian Open due to time constraints and match scheduling concerns.
Ruud was set to start his French Open campaign against Machac’s talented teenage compatriot Jakub Mensik, who withdrew (undisclosed reasons) this weekend.
Instead, he’ll begin with a Brazilian in the form of qualifier Felipe Meligeni Alves after racking up his 12th career title – all but one have come on clay. Ruud will hope he can recover to produce his best, or close, rather quickly as time waits for no man.
Picture source: Getty Images
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