Ready for the ATP final – VG

Updated!

After competitors Jannik Sinner and Cameron Norrie had both been knocked out of the Masters 1000 tournament in Paris earlier, it was all easy for Casper Ruud on Thursday night.

With a victory against qualifier Marcos Giron, he would be secured a place among the top eight in the ATP Race, even before the season’s final tournament in Stockholm next week.

Ruud had little trouble doing that. The Norwegian won 6-2, 6-1 and is thus ready for the quarterfinals of the tournament. There he meets Olympic winner Alexander Zverev.

The two met for the first time in the quarterfinals of the Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati in August. Zverev then won 6–1, 6–3.

The victory is Ruud’s 115th victory on the ATP tour, which means that he is equal to his father Christian Ruud in the number of victories and as the Norwegian with the most victories on the ATP tour.

Ruud has really made an impact at the top level this season, and the Norwegian has won five tournaments – all at the ATP 250 level. Three of the tournament victories came in a row when Ruud won three gravel tournaments in a row. No other player has won more than five tournaments this season.

The Norwegian has also impressed in the Masters 1000 tournaments, where he has reached at least the quarterfinals in five of the six tournaments he has played this season.

Ruud is ranked as high as number eight in the world at the moment, and this autumn was also part of the European team that outright crushed the world team in the Laver Cup.

The ATP final will be played in Turin from 14 to 21 November. In addition to Ruud, Novak has Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrej Rubljov and Matteo Berrettini. The last place is between Hubert Hurkacz, Jannik Sinner and Cameron Norrie.

Just to participate in the ATP final, players receive 173,000 US dollars, equivalent to 1.48 million Norwegian kroner.

The ATP final is first played as a group game, where the eight players are divided into two groups. The top two from each group advance to the semifinals, and the winners from there advance to the final.

You can follow the tournament in Paris on Discovery +. Ruud’s quarterfinal against Zverev is the last match on Friday, and is expected to start at 21.00 at the earliest.

–