Casper Ruud caps dream week with Geneva Open crown

On Saturday, Casper Ruud returned to the winner’s circle, 15 months after becoming the first Norwegian to win an ATP title. Third-seeded Ruud defeated second-seeded Denis Shapovalov, 7-6 (6), 6-4, at the Geneva Open to claim his second ATP tour-level trophy.

“It feels as good to win today as it did in Buenos Aires,” Ruud said. “I was more mature this week, knowing that I won a title before. It’s something else to do it the second time, but it’s the same great winning taste and winning feeling.”

Shapovalov, who was playing in his third career final, was also looking for his second tour-level title—having won the 2019 Stockholm Open.

Ruud, however, has put together a stellar European clay-court campaign so far, with three consecutive semifinal runs in Monte Carlo, Munich and Madrid.

“It was one of my best weeks,” Ruud told TENNIS.com, recalling his dream week in Monte Carlo. “And a week where I had many good wins. Three Top 20 wins in a row, beating a Top 10 player and beating the defending champion. It was a great feeling. This gave me a lot of confidence. And last year when I made semifinals in Rome, you say like, ‘Oh, will this be a one-hit wonder, or will this happen again?" You have to take care of your chances.’

“And in Monte Carlo, I think I proved, also for myself, that I'm able to do that and compete well on this surface. That's the most important thing to know, that Rome was not just a one-time case.”

Against fellow 22-year-old Shapovalov in Geneva, the Norwegian did not face a break point. He won 79% of his first-serve points and 81% of his second. The Canadian, on the other hand, won 78% and 58%, respectively.

Ruud will aim to continue his remarkable red-dirt run at Roland Garros in less than two weeks. He’s never been past the second-round there, and has only made the third round of a Grand Slam once at the 2019 US Open.

“It feels great that I’ve been playing well lately and reaching the later stages in my past tournaments,” Ruud said after his victory. “It is a big confidence-booster ahead of Roland Garros… It was a close match today and it could have gone either way.”