Casper Ruud eyes 'biggest title of career' ahead of Tsitsipas final at Barcelona Open after Monte Carlo clash
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Updated 20/04/2024 at 19:31 GMT
After being made to sweat by Tomas Martin Etcheverry in a gruelling first set, Casper Ruud got the job done more comfortably in the second to seal his place in the Barcelona Open final. He now has the chance for revenge on Sunday, with his Monte-Carlo Masters final conqueror from last weekend - Stefanos Tsitsipas - in the final after beating Dusan Lajovic in his semi-final match.
Watch highlights as Casper Ruud eases into Barcelona Open semi-finals
Casper Ruud beat Tomas Martin Etcheverry to set up a Barcelona Open final with Stefanos Tsitsipas, who defeated Dusan Lajovic in his own semi-final.
Ruud booked his place in the Barcelona Open final with a 7-6(6) 6-4 win over Etcheverry - and then looked forward to the chance to win "the biggest title" of his career.
On Sunday, Ruud will be hoping to end a sobering run which has seen him lose his last seven finals at tournaments above ATP 250 level.
However, he has started the 2024 season in impressive fashion and this victory takes his record to four wins and one defeat from five semi-finals this year - and he will face Tsitsipas in a final for the second week running after losing to the Greek in Monte Carlo.
"It's been fantastic, two weeks has been really good, two finals in a row and it's gonna be special tomorrow, I'm gonna play for the biggest title of my career," Ruud told Teledeporte.
"It was a difficult match, level-wise maybe it was my best match here in Barcelona, a very tough opponent, Tomas is playing fantastic tennis.
"I was a bit lucky in the first set... but that's what you need sometimes, a bit of luck."
Ruud took a keenly-contested opening set lasting one hour and 16 minutes after prevailing via a tie-break, with Etcheverry proving a very tough nut to crack.
The Argentine was showing few chinks in his armour until Ruud managed to get the opening break at 4-2, but could not follow that up with a hold in an immediate break back for the world No. 30.
Ruud was looking to finally move clear at 6-5, but let two set points slip to give Etcheverry a crucial hold at 6-6 before his resistance was ended.
The world No. 6 drew blood after set point number four in a gruelling opener, and followed that up with an early break in the second to seize the advantage.
But this topsy-turvy set looked to be following a familiar pattern to the first, as Etcheverry broke back again at 1-1.
However, the contest decisively swung in Ruud's favour when he emphatically broke Etcheverry to love at 3-2.
From there onwards, the Norwegian wrapped up the match with relative comfort, taking it on his second match point.
He will now face Tsitsipas in Sunday's final, with a chance to exact quick revenge on the Greek.
Tsitsipas fought back from a set down to overcome Lajovic in a match that lasted more than two hours.
He came from behind to win 5-7 6-4 6-2 to reach Sunday’s final after a slow start, maintaining a streak of 10 consecutive wins. His impressive forehand and powerful shots allowed him to recover against his 33-year-old opponent.
After dropping out of the world's top 10 last year, he is back up to No. 7 after an improvement in his form in recent weeks.
The 25-year-old is looking for back-to-back title wins after winning the Monte-Carlo Masters for the third time in his career last week, and is into the final at Barcelona for the fifth time.
Fritz through to Munich final
American Taylor Fritz is yet to win a title on clay at tour level, and he is in with a chance on Sunday in Munich.
He defeated Chile's Cristian Garin 6-3 6-4 in 81 minutes, and will play Jan-Lennard Struff in the final.
"It is really cool," Fritz said of reaching the final. "I have been really close to a clay-court final a couple of times. It would be awesome to get a title on a clay court."
Struff defeated Holger Rune, the reigning champion, 6-2 6-0 to reach the final in Germany for the second time in his career as he looks for his first-ever tour title.
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