(sda) Denis Shapovalov and Casper Ruud took second and third place in the seeding list in Geneva behind Roger Federer. Both played spectacularly before this tournament week. Shapovalov, for example, made two match points against eventual tournament winner Rafael Nadal in Rome last week.
Shapovalov reached a final on clay for the first time in Geneva. He lost his first two semi-finals three years ago in Madrid against Alexander Zverev and last autumn against Diego Schwartzman in Rome. Against Pablo Cuevas (ATP 102), a former top 20 player, Shapovalov prevailed 6: 4, 7: 5 despite a critical phase in the second set (2: 4 deficit).
In the eleventh attempt, the young Canadian only survived the semi-finals on the ATP Tour level for the second time. After his first semi-final victory (2019 at the indoor tournament in Stockholm), Shapovalov also won the final and his only title to date.
Final opponent Casper Ruud also ended a prolonged semifinal failure on the Geneva tennis club’s facility. Ruud contested the fourth semi-final in a row in Geneva on clay. In Monte Carlo (against Andrej Rublew), Munich (against Nikolos Bassilaschwili) and Madrid (against Matteo Berrettini) he had clearly lost. Ruud has lost five semi-finals in a row since winning the tournament in Buenos Aires almost a year and a half ago.
Against Pablo Andujar, Ruud finally found his way back to victory with 6: 3, 6: 2 in the semifinals. Andujar, who eliminated Roger Federer in the round of 16 and Dominic Stricker in the quarter-finals, had no chance.
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