Denis Shapovalov will take on Casper Ruud in the Geneva Open final after both won their semi-final bouts in straight sets wins on Friday.
Follow Us
Denis Shapovalov will take on Casper Ruud in the Geneva Open final after both won their semi-final bouts in straight sets wins on Friday.
The second-seeded Shapovalov beat Pablo Cuevas 6-4, 7-5 and the third-seeded Ruud won 6-3, 6-2 against Pablo Andujar as the two 22-year-olds both defeated 35-year-old opponents.
Spanish veteran Andujar had previously beaten 39-year-old great Roger Federer and 18-year-old Swiss prospect Dominic Stricker.
Shapovalov and Ruud will be meeting on tour for the first time and both seek their second career title.
“I know Casper very well,” Shapovalov said after the match. “We played in the juniors together and we go way back. He’s improved a lot. He’s playing at a really high level the past couple of weeks, the past couple of months.
“So it’s going to be a fun battle tomorrow.”
Ruud also had nothing but good things to say about his opponent. “Denis has also been playing very good on the surface recently and took (Rafael) Nadal to his knees last week in Rome and had match points. And I was watching the match. He was playing very well and has been playing well here as well.”
In his previous ATP tournament, Shapovalov lost to Rafael Nadal in the third round at Rome. However, the Canadian had a decent showing, taking Nadal to a tie-break in the third set before losing.
“I definitely played a really high level in Rome and all my matches. And even though I didn’t get the win against Rafa, I was playing at his level. I’m playing some really good tennis, so I just tried to take the positives from that match and just keep going forward.”
Speaking on his game plan on clay, Shapovalov said winning points on the surface is “like chess”.
“I do enjoy faster tennis, but (clay) is not really just an adjustment, I just have to be a little bit more patient and play a little bit safer or smarter perhaps. You have to actually almost like play chess and and construct the points.”
The final will take place on Saturday (May 22).
