Casper Ruud, of Norway, returns a ball to Tomas Machac, of the Czech Republic during their Final match, at the ATP 250 Geneva Open tennis tournament in Geneva, Switzerland, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)

Casper Ruud wins two matches in a day to take his third Geneva Open title

25 May 2024, 20:00 · Japan Today

GENEVA — Casper Ruud did double duty Saturday and won back-to-back matches to take his third Geneva Open title in four years.

Ruud won the final 7-5, 6-3 against Tomas Machac, who eliminated Novak Djokovic in the only semifinal completed Friday, returning on court less than three hours after having defeated Flavio Cobolli.

He rallied from a slow start at 10.30 a.m. to beat Cobolli 1-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4) in a match delayed on Friday because of heavy rain.

Seventh-ranked Norwegian Ruud saved a match point at 5-4 in the deciding set. In the final later, he saved a set point when 5-4 down in the first set and Machac double-faulted.

“He definitely deserved to win the first set,” Ruud said. "It was tough to find a groove. The weather has been a bit challenging this week but today was fantastic.”

Ruud now heads to Paris for the French Open, where he was the beaten finalist in the past two years, first against Rafael Nadal, then against Djokovic. Main-draw matches start Sunday at Roland Garros.

Ruud’s 12th career title was his 11th on clay courts, his fifth in Switzerland and third in Geneva. He also won the title in 2021 and 2022.