Earlier in Estoril, the sixth-seeded Kecmanovic continued his dominant run with a 6-3, 6-1 win against Marco Cecchinato. The Serbian has not lost a set in his four wins this week on the way to his fourth tour-level final and second of 2023 (Delray Beach).
The 23-year-old needed just one hour, eight minutes to defeat Cecchinato, saving both break points against him while converting on four of his eight break chances.
Kecmanovic will play for his second ATP Tour title after his 2020 triumph in Kitzbühel, while Cecchinato was denied a sixth tour-level final and first since 2021. By reaching the title match, Kecmanovic has moved up six places to No. 34 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings this week. He would rise two more places to No. 32 by winning the trophy.
The Serbian also advanced to the Estoril doubles final on Saturday, teaming with countryman Nikola Cacic for a 6-2, 1-6, 10-3 semi-final win against third seeds Gonzalo Escobar and Fabien Reboul.
Looking ahead to the singles final, Ruud shared his excitement about playing his friend in such a big match.
"It's going to be fun. Miomir is a good friend of mine, one of my better friends on Tour. It's going to be an exciting match. To play each other in the final is going to be fun, for the first time in our career," he said. "He's been playing great, so I have to be prepared for a very tough match. He's been winning straight sets and killing everyone almost. So I have to be ready and just hoping that I can play well and have fun tomorrow in another final."
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