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Ruud has captured all three of his tour-level titles on clay
Top seed Casper Ruud ended his dominant week in Bastad by overcoming Federico Coria 6-3, 6-3 in the Nordea Open final on Sunday to capture his third ATP Tour title.

Ruud hugged the baseline throughout the match, dictating play on his forehand as he secured victory in one hour and 28 minutes. It is the second title he has claimed this year, having captured the Gonet Geneva Open title (d. Shapovalov) in May. He is now 3-2 in ATP Tour finals, having also won the Buenos Aires trophy on clay (d. P. Sousa) last year.

“It was an incredible week, maybe the best week of my life,” Ruud said. “It is an incredible feeling playing here in Bastad with the Swedish, Norwegian and Danish support. There is nothing like that home crowd feeling.

“To win here means a lot. You get a little extra nervous as the No. 1 seed. Me and my father [former World No. 39 Christian Ruud] have been joking about when I am going to beat him at this and this, and now I think I have beaten him in everything! The Ruud family can finally bring the trophy home to Norway. It is a special feeling having him here with me.”

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With the 250 FedEx ATP Ranking points Ruud earned this week, he has risen to 10th place in the ATP Race To Turin. The 22-year-old now has 1,770 points, just 15 behind ninth-placed Russian Aslan Karatsev.

The Norwegian did not drop a set all week in Sweden and started well in the final, hitting with heavy topspin and great depth as he forced Coria behind the baseline. Ruud dominated with his powerful forehand and maintained consistency on the backhand in the first set to move ahead.

Ruud continued to apply pressure on Coria in the second set. He returned well, winning 50 per cent of points on Coria’s first serve as he broke in the fifth game to lead 3-2. The 22-year-old continued to cover every inch of the court and claimed victory when he fired a forehand winner past the World No. 77.

Coria was competing in his first tour-level final on Sunday. The Argentine’s previous best result was a run to the semi-finals at the Cordoba Open (l. to Cerundolo) in February.

The Norwegian is the third seed this week
Could Casper Ruud make a push to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held in Turin from 14-21 November? The Norwegian star will continue to stake his claim this week at the Swiss Open Gstaad, where he is making his tournament debut.

The 22-year-old moved into 10th place in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin thanks to his triumph at last week's Nordea Open in Bastad. Ruud trails ninth-placed Aslan Karatsev by just 15 points, and the Russian cannot add to his total this week since he is competing in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

FedEx ATP Race To Turin Standings (19 July)

Player Points
1) Novak Djokovic 7,170
2) Stefanos Tsitsipas 4,660
3) Matteo Berrettini 3,505
4) Andrey Rublev 3,250
5) Alexander Zverev 3,195
6) Daniil Medvedev 3,020
7) Rafael Nadal 2,940
Hubert Hurkacz 2,190
9) Aslan Karatsev 1,785
10) Casper Ruud 1,770
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Ruud, however, arrived in Switzerland with momentum and an opportunity to add to his total. The Next Gen ATP Finals alumnus did not lose a set last week in Bastad, and did not drop more than four games in a set.

“It was an incredible week, maybe the best week of my life,” Ruud said after winning the title.

The Norwegian is the third seed this week at the Swiss ATP 250, where he will play Austrian Dennis Novak in the second round. The top seed is Denis Shapovalov and Roberto Bautista Agut, the 2018 Gstaad finalist, is the second seed.

The third seed will next face either Benoit Paire or Tallon Griekspoor
Third seed Casper Ruud continued his strong clay-court form on Thursday as he moved past Dennis Novak 6-4, 7-6(5) in his opening match at the Swiss Open Gstaad to reach the quarter-finals.

The Norwegian currently sits in 10th place in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin, having claimed his second ATP Tour title of this season last week at the Nordea Open (d. Coria). Ruud, who has now won 21 clay-court matches this season, also lifted the Gonet Geneva Open (d. Shapovalov) trophy in May.

After his recent success, Ruud admitted qualifying for the 2021 Nitto ATP Finals in November is a main goal, saying: “It is something you look up to [qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals]. It shows you have been one of the best players on Tour.

“It is definitely something I am aiming for, and if it happens this year that will be amazing. In tennis, you need to take your chances and earn your way up.”

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Ruud produced a dominant display against Novak in Gstaad. He won 89 per cent (17/19) of his first-service points, and did not face a break point to advance in one hour and 38 minutes. He will next play sixth-seeded Frenchman Benoit Paire after Tallon Griekspoor was forced to retire after losing the first set 6-4.

“I have an incredible motivation to play on clay this year, especially after the cancellation of clay events last season,” Ruud said. “I think I am playing with a high intensity and good mentality on every point. At this level, it is normally a couple of points that decide a match.

“Even today it was a tight second set that could have gone either way, and if I hadn’t won that second set it would have been a tough three setter.”

Ruud struck the ball well throughout from the baseline, hitting with great depth as he moved the Austrian about. He found the decisive break in the 10th game of the first set to move ahead and raised his level in the second set tie-break to advance.

The Norwegian will face Gaston in the championship match
Third seed Casper Ruud’s dominant clay-court run continued on Saturday at the Swiss Open Gstaad as he defeated Czech qualifier Vit Kopriva 6-3, 6-0 to reach his second ATP Tour final in as many weeks.

The Norwegian, who lifted the Nordea Open trophy last week, was made to battle against Kopriva in the first set. Both struck the ball well from the baseline, but Ruud was more consistent as he raced away in the second set to advance in 74 minutes.

How To Watch

"I have been having high motivation and a good mentality these past few weeks," Ruud said. "It is the last chance I get to play on clay before the clay season is done for me. I am playing good tennis with good intensity. The ball is bouncing really high, and with the high altitude. It suites me well.

"I am excited. It is not always you are playing in finals, so it is a special feeling. I need to think what I did well the last time in Switzerland in Geneva, which was also against a lefty and a young player. It will be a tough match, Gaston is young and I will have to be on the top of my game to have a chance."

The 22-year-old has now claimed 23 clay-court wins this year and will move up to ninth place in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin on Monday. Ruud won the Gonet Geneva Open title (d. Shapovalov) in May, and all 14 of his ATP Tour semi-finals have come on clay.

Ruud will be aiming to capture a fourth ATP Tour title of his career against Frenchman Hugo Gaston on Sunday, after the World No. 155 advanced to his first tour-level final with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Laslo Djere.


Both Kopriva and Ruud broke in a lively start, in which Kopriva matched the third seed from the baseline. The Czech stepped inside the baseline throughout the first set as he tried to force Ruud back. However, the World No. 14 started to find his range as the set went on and broke in the eighth game when Kopriva hit a forehand long. Ruud then dictated in the second set. He hit his forehand with great depth and pace as he forced Kopriva into more errors to advance.

The World No. 249 Kopriva was making his ATP Tour debut this week. He shocked top-seeded Canadian Denis Shapovalov in the second round to become the lowest-ranked player to beat a Top 10 opponent since then World No. 698 Thanasi Kokkinakis defeated World No. 6 Milos Raonic at The Queen’s Club in 2017.