Casper Ruud clinches final semifinal berth at 2024 ATP Finals, faces Jannik Sinner next

Casper Ruud completed the semifinal line-up at the 2024 Nitto ATP Finals on Friday, winning the first set of his final round-robin match against Andrey Rublev to guarantee himself a second-place finish in the John Newcombe Group.

Once No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev defeated No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets earlier in the afternoon, Ruud needed only to win one set against Rublev, having split his first two round-robin matches against Alcaraz and Zverev for a 1-1 record. Finalist at the 2022 ATP Finals, the sixth-seeded Ruud played a clean 6-4 opening set against Rublev to score the lone break and serve out his place in the semifinals regardless of how the match ultimately plays out. Ruud went on to defeat Rublev, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2.

Awaiting him in the final four is world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who finished first in the Ilie Nastase Group on Thursday with a 3-0 record over Alex de Minaur, Taylor Fritz, and Daniil Medvedev. The second semifinal will take place between Zverev and No. 5 seed Taylor Fritz, who scored wins over Medvedev and De Minaur.

Ruud has now made at least the semifinals in three of the last four ATP Finals, 2023 the only exception due to the former world No. 2’s missing the event entirely. After a subpar season saw him fall short of the Top 8, Ruud put together a much more consistent year in 2024, winning his first ATP 500 title in Barcelona and reaching a second career Masters 1000 final at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

Since reaching the semifinals at Roland Garros, however, illnesses and injuries halted his progress and threw his Turin qualification berth down to the wire. Once in the draw, he opened the week with a stunning win over Carlos Alcaraz, defeating the four-time Grand Slam champion in straight sets for his first Top 10 win since April (Barcelona, d. Stefanos Tsitsipas).

Ruud will be an underdog in his semifinal against Sinner, trailing the Italian 0-2 in their head-to-head, though their last meeting was in 2021. Sinner continued his flawless finish to the season by winning a ninth straight match on Thursday to finish undefeated in round-robin play.

Zverev and Fritz will face off for the fourth time this season, with Fritz having won all three meetings at Wimbledon, the US Open, and Laver Cup. Fritz finished a close second to Sinner in the Nastase Group, defeating Medvedev in straight sets and rallying from a set down to defeat Alex de Minaur.