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Norwegian didn’t face break point in final against Shapovalov
Third seed Casper Ruud was rock-solid on Saturday as he took down Denis Shapovalov 7-6(6), 6-4 to win his second tour-level title at the Gonet Geneva Open.

The Norwegian has been in impressive form throughout the clay-court swing, arriving in Geneva on the back of three consecutive semi-finals at Monte-Carlo (l. Rublev), Munich (l.Basilashvili) and Madrid (l. Berrettini).

In Geneva, Ruud dropped only one set en route the the championship match against fellow 22-year-old #NextGenATP alumnus Shapovalov, who was also seeking his second tour-level title.

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Ruud edged through a tightly contested opening set that was defined by strong serving. There were no break points on offer, with Shapovalov dropping only one point behind his first serve and winning 94 per cent (15/16) of those points while Ruud dominated the second serve, winning 91 per cent (10/11) before they went into the tie-break.

When the opening finally came for Ruud, he capitalised right away. Taking advantage of only his second look at a Shapovalov second serve in the set, Ruud onloaded on the return and jammed Shapovalov at the net to earn an error for a 4/2 lead.

From 6/2 down, the Canadian fought back to save four set points and bring them level in the decider. But Ruud got himself out of trouble with an ace – one of four he struck in the match – before Shapovalov dumped a volley into the net to seal the set.

After such a high-quality opening set, a second-set letdown was inevitable – but Ruud kept his level high as the Canadian’s first-serve percentage eventually dropped off, giving his opponent the opening he needed.

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Ruud was right there to keep Shapovalov under pressure, and earned the first break opportunities of the match in the decisive 2-2 game. Shapovalov held firm during the marathon game, saving four break points, but couldn’t hold back the Norwegian as he converted his fifth. Ruud served out the victory after an hour and 43 minutes.

Ruud improved to a tour-leading 32 clay-court wins in 2020-21, ahead of Stefanos Tsitsipas (26) and Cristian Garin (25).

Shapovalov was seeking his second ATP title in his third final appearance, after improving to 2-10 in semi-final matches with a victory over Pablo Cuevas.

Did You Know?
The Geneva final is the first of 2021 to feature two 22-and-under players. There were six such finals during the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season – the most on the ATP Tour since nine in 2009. The most recent took place in Antwerp last October (Ugo Humbert d. Alex de Minaur).

Norwegian set for Top 20 return after clinching second ATP Tour title
Maybe Roger Federer should put on an ATP Tour serve clinic?

After Swiss teen Dominic Stephan Stricker cited the former World No. 1’s advice as the reason behind a tweak in his serve earlier in the week, Gonet Geneva Open champion Casper Ruud revealed that he too looked to the Federer service motion for some inspiration of his own.

Ruud served up some head-turning numbers on serve in his 7-6(6), 6-4 victory against Denis Shapovalov in Saturday's final. He controlled the match by winning 79 per cent of points behind his first serve (26/33) and 81 per cent of second serve points (22/27).

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It was a marked improvement for the Norwegian player, who explained that the difference was only a matter of inches – moving the toss forward by a few centimetres, turning his head a certain way at the point of contact – and a matter of following Federer’s example.

“It’s a little bit like the movement that Roger [Federer] does when he rotates with his head and it almost looks like he can see the ball at impact," Ruud explained in his post-match press conference. "That gave me some inspiration looking at the way he’s serving. He’s not the tallest guy, but he always had a big serve."

“I think it’s been [a] positive [change] that is helping the arm and body feel better, and also I’m serving better," he added. "I’m placing the ball better and I have better pace on the ball. I think it was a great change and a great improvement. And it was an easy change. Sometimes changes can be tougher, but this time it was only to move the toss further in front and try to look at the ball at impact."


Ruud’s revamped serve has been firing throughout the clay-court season, where he previously reached three semi-finals, including two at the ATP Masters 1000 level: Monte-Carlo (l. Rublev), Munich (l.Basilashvili) and Madrid (l. Berrettini). He only dropped one set en route to the trophy in Geneva, his second ATP Tour title, and did not face a break point during the championship match.

With the victory in Geneva, Ruud is set for a return to the Top 20 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. He also guarantees himself a major boon heading into Paris in two weeks: a Top 16 seeding at Roland Garros, his highest Grand Slam seeding yet.

“I feel great that I’ve been playing well lately. In the past few tournaments I’ve been reaching the later stages,” Ruud said. “It’s a good confidence-booster for Roland Garros, but it’s a new tournament and new conditions and best-of-five sets.

“I hope I can do well, and hopefully the form I’ve been showing recently can affect the other players and they will think that it will be a tough challenge if they play me. That’s also the goal. The way when people play Rafa [Nadal] on clay, they will already think before the match that it will be very tough. I’m very far from this level, but at least maybe some players can think a little bit like this.”


Ruud will hope to keep sending a message with his clay-court prowess as he heads to Roland Garros. The Norwegian is already trying to put his result in Geneva out of his mind in an attempt to stay focussed – but will allow himself just one day of rest before getting back to work.

“I think it will be important to keep the intensity and focus up,” he said. “In one way, try to pretend this never happened, in the sense that you work hard every day in the coming days to Paris, like I would do if I didn’t play here.

“Every match in a Grand Slam is tough so you have to be ready for anyone, but at least the seeding is good for me this year and I hope I can do some damage. I hope I can be in the second week of Roland Garros. That’s my goal.”

The Norwegian is training for a few days at Nadal's academy
Casper Ruud is still waiting on his invite on Rafael Nadal's yacht, but in the meantime, he's enjoying quality time with the Spaniard on the court and on the golf course.

After winning the Gonet Geneva Open, Ruud is preparing for Roland Garros by practising with Nadal at the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar in Mallorca.

"I think he's eager to play a little bit next week, so I have to enjoy maybe a day or two off and then be ready for tough practices with him in Mallorca," Ruud said in Geneva, where the 22-year-old won his second ATP Tour title.

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Ruud has trained at Nadal's academy since he was 19, so the Norwegian has plenty of familiarity with the World No. 3 and expects a round of golf this week, at the very least. The two also share a love for the sea with Ruud often boating in Norway and Nadal purchasing a new yacht in 2020.

"He hasn't invited me on the new boat yet so we will see what happens," Ruud said. "It would be obviously nice to go, but we've been playing golf a couple of times. We are both eager to play golf and to challenge each other."


Though Ruud and Nadal have yet to face off on the ATP Tour, they have battled on the fairways.

"Rafa is a scratch [golfer] or even under zero so that's very good,” Ruud said. “I am a 1.8 [handicap], so it's very close, but he is still winning for the moment. Next time I will try to beat him.”

Maybe one day they'll go fishing together, though not in Mallorca as Ruud, a big fan of sushi, thinks his home country has a better selection.

"They don't have salmon in Mallorca so I don't really want to do any fishing,” Ruud said. “But I know that he likes to fish and I think he should probably come to Norway to go fishing for salmon because it's a very nice thing to do."

Norwegian aiming for deep run in bottom half

Casper Ruud extended his 2021 clay-court record to 17-4 on Wednesday by reaching the Roland Garros third round for the third straight season. The Norwegian, who is a contender for a deep run in the bottom half of the draw, faced little resistance in beating Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in one hour and 53 minutes.

Ruud was rock-solid on serve, winning 47 of 58 points with his first delivery, and the No. 15 seed also struck 39 winners. Projected to meet sixth-seeded German Alexander Zverev, who was a 7-6(4), 6-3, 7-6(1) victor on Wednesday, in the quarter-finals, Ruud's next challenge will be against Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina or Dutch qualifier Botic van de Zandschulp.

The 22-year-old Ruud has compiled a 22-6 record on the season — with a 17-4 mark on clay — including his second ATP Tour title at the Gonet Geneva Open (d. Shapovalov). He also reached three semi-final runs at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters (l. to Rublev), the BMW Open in Munich (l. to Basilashvili) and the Mutua Madrid Open (l. to Berrettini).

When asked about his dark horse status, Ruud admitted, "It's nice to get some recognition that you had a good clay-court swing. I've won many matches. I've built a kind of clay-court reputation for myself. I've been performing well many tournaments in a row this year. I think this is by far my best clay court season so far."

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Ruud, competing at Roland Garros for the fourth time, broke clear when Majchrzak struck a forehand long in the fourth game. The Pole saved four break points at 1-4, but Ruud wrapped up the 36-minute opener with his 14th winner (a forehand).

A looping forehand return landed on the baseline to give Ruud a 3-2 advantage in the second set, and a second break came when Majchrzak struck a backhand wide with Ruud on the run in the seventh game. Ruud won 94 per cent of his first serves in the second set, which lasted 36 minutes, and won 12 of the first 16 points in the third set.

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To his credit, Majchrzak recovered by coming back from an 0-3 deficit to 4-4, before Ruud raised his game to force errors. Ruud fought back from 15/40 when serving for the match.

Ruud, who is currently at a career-high No. 16 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, made a career-best Grand Slam run to the Australian Open fourth round (l. to Rublev) in February. Majchrzak, 25, had been attempting to become the first Polish man to reach the Roland Garros third round since Jerzy Janowicz in 2014.

Christian reflects on Casper's development and clay-court game
There have been many cases over the years of professional tennis talent running in the family. The Ruud family may just be one of the most successful cases, as father, Christian Ruud, and son, Casper Ruud, are the two greatest players in the history of Norwegian tennis.

Casper, who on Tuesday advanced to the third round at Roland Garros, has established himself as one of the best clay-court players in the world, and is viewed by many, including his father, to be a threat at this Grand Slam for years to come.

“He has the game for it, he has the weapons and he has a good clay-court game,” Christian told Chris Bowers for ATP Tennis Radio. “I think there are a lot of good players coming behind [Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic], and I think Casper is one of them, especially on the clay.”

Listen To ATP Tennis Radio Interview:


Christian Ruud has a dual role as his son’s father and coach. He also doesn’t seem to mind that Casper has eclipsed many of his own achievements from when he was a player. Christian reached a career-high No. 39 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, while his son is now at a career-best World No. 16.

“Casper is quite easy to coach I would say. I think that inside he has a big drive and he shows that every day when he goes to practice,” Christian said. “My goal is for him to become as good as possible so in that sense I am very happy that he has beaten all of my records now.”

Casper has thrived on clay the most during the early stages of his career. He possesses a 17-4 record on the surface so far in 2021, winning a title in Geneva (d. Shapovalov) and making semi-final appearances in two clay-court ATP 1000 Masters events this year, in Monte-Carlo and Madrid.


The 22-year-old’s level on the clay has put him in 10th place in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin. With a successful campaign in Paris, the Norwegian could climb even higher into contention for a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals.

While Ruud has reached the third round at Roland Garros in 2019 and 2020, he carries more momentum into this major than ever before. His father believes that winning the tournament this year is not such a far-fetched notion.

“I think that bigger surprises have happened before,” Christian said. “I think we have to respect guys that have won here many times before like Rafa, and [other stars like] Djokovic, but I think certainly (that) Casper is in the mix of contenders a little bit this year.”

According to Christian, Casper has big aspirations, and his results this year have backed up that self-belief.

“I think he believes that he can become a Top 10 player and I think he dreams about being No. 1 and winning a Grand Slam,” Christian said. “He’s playing well at the moment and feels like he belongs, especially among the clay-courters in that ranking. We had a good start of the year and we’re really happy with the position he’s in, so I think he’s optimistic about the rest of the year and the future.”