ATP Tour

Ruud matches Wilander with imposing Geneva QF win, Bublik sets Tien clash

Casper Ruud extended his impressive record at the Gonet Geneva Open on Thursday, when he delivered a standout serving performance to return to the semi-finals.

The 25-year-old Norwegian, who owns a record three titles at the Swiss ATP 250 event, moved past Alexei Popyrin 6-4, 6-3 to reach the last four. Ruud dropped just three of 28 points behind his first serve, according to Infosys ATP Stats, en route to an imposing 72-minute win.

“It was a good match today, so I’m really happy with the win,” said Ruud, who improved to 2-1 in his Lexus ATP Head2head series with Popyrin. “It’s not easy to play Alexei. I had a tough loss to him last year on clay, and this year in Monte-Carlo we played again. That went in my favour so I tried to remember what happened there. With the altitude, it’s not easy to return a big serve, but I think I managed well today.”

With his quarter-final win over Popyrin, Ruud improved to a 16-1 record in Geneva and tied former World No. 1 Mats Wilander for the second-most wins in tournament history. The sixth seed will next meet Mariano Navone in his bid for a record-extending fourth crown in southern Switzerland.

Ruud arrived in Geneva after a run to his first final at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome, where he fell to World No. 1 Jannik Sinner, and has yet to drop a set across his three matches so far this week.

What’s the secret behind Ruud’s success at the tournament?

“The place is maybe the secret,” Ruud responded. “I really like being here. It’s a great tournament. I really like the conditions and the fans are great here, so I really enjoy my time on court.”

Earlier, Navone cruised past Jaume Munar 6-2, 6-2 for his 50th tour-level win. The Argentine, who won his first ATP Tour title in Bucharest last month, is now into his fifth semi-final, all of which have come on clay.

In the bottom half of the Geneva draw, second seed Alexander Bublik will meet fourth seed Learner Tien in a rematch of the pair’s third-round clash in Rome just 11 days ago.

Tien, who downed Bublik in three sets in that meeting in the Italian capital, booked his maiden ATP Tour semi-final appearance on clay by overcoming his fellow American Alex Michelsen 6-4, 3-6, 6-1. In the last match of the day, Bublik sank Arthur Rinderknech 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 to improve to 17-5 on clay since Roland Garros last year.