Geneva Open Finals LIVE: With his back against the wall, Casper Ruud successfully retained his Gonet Geneva Open title Saturday, overcoming Portugal’s Joao Sousa 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(1) to capture his eighth ATP Tour trophy. Follow InsideSport.IN for more updates.
Geneva Open Finals LIVE: Casper Ruud defends his Geneva Open title, defeats Joao Sousa in summit clash
Title RETAINED 🏆@casperruud98 claims back-to-back Geneva titles with a 7-6 4-6 7-6 victory over Sousa!#GonetGenevaOpen pic.twitter.com/OFMnk5GBeb
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 21, 2022
The Norwegian rallied from a break down at 4-5 in the third set as he demonstrated his fighting spirit by returning with great depth in the crucial moments to become the first player since Stan Wawrinka in 2016 and 2017 to win multiple Geneva crowns.
In a dramatic final, the second seed fired 11 aces, hit with consistent depth on his backhand and struck the ball with power and accuracy on his forehand to secure victory on his fourth match point after three hours and one minute.
It was the first ATP Tour final of the season to go to a third-set tie-break, with Ruud’s win the longest championship match of the season in both time and games (36).
“It was one of the craziest matches that I have ever played,” Ruud said in his on-court interview. “It was a lot of up and down. Sousa was close to winning and then suddenly everything turns around and this is tennis. It is always tough for the player who is not winning.”
“This win feels so good, but you have to give a lot of credit to Joao because he fought back from one set down and has been playing well all week,” Ruud added. “It was just a matter of one or two points today and luckily they went in my favour.”
Geneva Open Finals LIVE: Casper Ruud defends his Geneva Open title, defeats Joao Sousa in summit clash