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Former champions Casper Ruud and Matteo Berrettini to square off for Gstaad crown

Both advanced in dominant fashion Saturday at the ATP 250 clay-court event, with the Italian defeating Dominic Thiem and the Norwegian routing Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

ByMatt Fitzgerald

Published Jul 23, 2022

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WATCH: Highlights from the last time Berrettini and Ruud met

On Saturday, four former champions took the court in an intriguing semifinal lineup at the Swiss Open Gstaad. Two emerged with comprehensive victories.

Matteo Berrettini kicked off proceedings by ending Dominic Thiem’s promising week, 6-1, 6-4, for his 12th consecutive match win. Facing off on clay for the first time since their inaugural tour-level clash—which Thiem won in the third round of 2018 Roland Garros—Berrettini sprinted out by taking the first five games. His only hiccup in the 78-minute victory was dropping serve the first time he served for the contest at 5-2 in the second set.

“The more you play, the more you feel better. I think today was the best match of the week, obviously against a great player,” the No. 2 seed stated on court. “I knew I had to play this level to beat him. I started way better, the approach was better, the attitude was better.”

In June, Berrettini made a triumphant return from a right hand injury when he lifted back-to-back trophies on grass at Stuttgart and London Queen’s, before a positive COVID-19 test forced the Italian to withdraw ahead of his Wimbledon bid. Gstaad holds a special place in his heart, for it was this venue four years ago where Berrettini celebrated his maiden ATP title.

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All but one of the pair's meetings have come on clay (Ruud won the first two, but Berrettini claimed their most recent encounter in the 2021 Madrid semifinals).

In Sunday’s final, the 26-year-old will square off against reigning titlist Casper Ruud. The top seed routed 2019 winner Albert Ramos-Vinolas, 6-2, 6-0, in just 62 minutes by breaking the left-hander five times from seven opportunities. After beginning 0-3 against the Spaniard, Ruud has now leveled their head-to-head series.

Like Berrettini, this year’s Roland Garros finalist is also seeking his third trophy of the season, following successes at fellow ATP 250 clay-court stops in Buenos Aires and Geneva. Ruud and Berrettini have split their prior four clashes.

“I need to return very well, because he has such a great serve. And I need to serve well myself,” the Norwegian told the crowd when previewing the showdown. “His serve, his forehand and his weapons are very dangerous here in these conditions. And he has good confidence from winning the title before. It’s gonna be an interesting matchup.”

In the words of Ruud, may the best man win.

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