by Patrick FAVRE | 20 May, 2022 | News_slider-en, News_Tournoi-en
Casper Ruud (ATP 8) checked into his third consecutive final on Swiss soil on Friday. A winner in Geneva and Gstaad last year, the Norwegian will face Joao Sousa (ATP 79) on Saturday with the 2022 Gonet Geneva Open title at stake.
The No. 2 seed and favourite to retain his crown, the 23-year-old Ruud beat Reilly Opelka (ATP 18) 7-6(2) 7-5 in one hour 30 minutes, while Joao Sousa – ten years Ruud’s senior – took 15 minutes fewer to dispose of Richard Gasquet (ATP 75) 6-2 6-2 in the second semi-final.
The two finalists have each won titles already this year, with the Norwegian triumphing in Buenos Aires in February and the Portuguese in Pune that same month. A Miami Open runner-up in April and an Italian Open semi-finalist in Rome last week, Ruud will start as a fairly warm favourite against a player he has defeated on both their previous meetings, both on clay.
Victorious in seven of the ten ATP Tour finals he has contested to date, Ruud had to bide his time against Opelka but ultimately outrallied the American and was never troubled on his serve.
The other semi-final was a more clear-cut affair, as Gasquet’s exertions over the week finally caught up with him. The Frenchman, who turns 36 next month, had no answer to the Portuguese, a former world No. 28, who cruised into his 12th ATP Tour final. A winner in four of those finals, Sousa made his last appearance in the Parc des Eaux-Vives showpiece in 2015, when he lost to Brazil’s Thomaz Bellucci.
by Patrick FAVRE | 19 May, 2022 | News_slider-en, News_Tournoi-en
Defending champion Casper Ruud against Reilly Opelka and the evergreen Richard Gasquet versus Joao Sousa – Friday’s enticing semi-final line-up at the Gonet Geneva Open is one for all tennis fans to savour.
At his commanding best in seeing off Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-4 7-6(3) on Thursday, Ruud is sure to face a stiff test from the big-serving Opelka. The Norwegian will be content to bide his time, however, having been in scintillating form all tournament long. Just as he had done against Benoît Paire on Wednesday, the world No. 8 barely gave Kokkinakis an opening.
Two days after accounting for world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev, Gasquet maintained his fine run of form in playing conditions that suited him down to the ground. Up against Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak, he gave another backhand masterclass to run out a 6-2 6-4 winner. The Frenchman will need to show the same discipline against Sousa. A runner-up here to Thomaz Bellucci in 2015, the Portuguese is in excellent fettle once more at the Parc des Eaux-Vives.
His country’s greatest player of all time, he eased into the last four courtesy of a 7-5 7-5 win over Ilya Ivashka, clinching victory on his fifth match point. Having found a second wind, can the 33-year-old steer his way into another Geneva final?
by Patrick FAVRE | 19 May, 2022 | News_slider-en, News_Tournoi-en
Twenty-four hours after No. 1 seed Daniil Medvedev tumbled out of the Gonet Geneva Open at the hands of Richard Gasquet, No. 3 seed Denis Shapovalov followed suit. A runner-up here last year, the Canadian lost 6-4 6-7(2) 6-3 to Ilya Ivashka in the final match of the day.
Six days on from beating Rafael Nadal in Rome, Shapovalov had no answer to the world No. 50, who will face Portugal’s Joao Sousa (ATP 79) in the quarterfinals on Thursday. With the Canadian now out of the picture, defending champion Casper Ruud (photo) is favourite to retain his title. The Norwegian made a fast start to his second-round meeting with Benoît Paire (ATP 67) and cruised to a straight-sets win (6-3 6-1). Ruud’s next opponent is Thanasi Kokkinakis (ATP 85), who produced a fine comeback against Federico Delbonis (ATP 62). Trailing 5-3 in the second set having lost the first 6-1, the Australian clawed his way back to level the match and then took the decider 7-5 to notch one of the finest wins of his clay-court career.
The day also saw the end of qualifier Jonas Nikles’ (ATP 317) fine run. The Geneva player went down 6-3 7-5 to Tallon Griekspoor (ATP 64) of the Netherlands after failing to convert four second-set points. With his campaign over, Nikles can look back with satisfaction on a breakthrough week, having now announced himself on the ATP Tour.
by Patrick FAVRE | 18 May, 2022 | News_slider-en, News_Tournoi-en
On another sun-kissed day in Geneva, hometown player Johan Nikles dug deep to win an all-Swiss clash with young compatriot Leandro Riedi 5-7 7-6(3) 7-5. The tournament’s local favourite saved no fewer than six match points en route to victory, with Riedi failing to hold his nerve on the big points and ultimately being undone by a high error count. Cheered on by the crowd, the 25-year-old Nikles clung on to record his maiden ATP 250 tournament win. His reward is a meeting this afternoon with the Netherlands’ Tallon Griekspoor on a Court Central that will no doubt be hoping for the Swiss to chalk up another landmark victory.
In the night session, Richard Gasquet saw off No. 1 seed Daniil Medvedev 6-2 7-6(5). Newly returned from injured and well below his best in the opening set, the reigning US Open champion recovered in the second only to cough up a double fault at match point in the tie-break to gift his opponent victory. Gasquet, who has yet to drop a set at the tournament, will now face Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak – a straight-sets winner over Marco Cecchinato – on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, Australian duo Thanasi Kokkinakis and Christopher O’Connell respectively ended the hopes of outsiders Fabio Fognini and Albert Ramos-Vinolas, running out 6-4 6-3 and 7-6(5) 6-4 winners.
by Patrick FAVRE | 17 May, 2022 | News_slider-en, News_Tournoi-en
Dominic Thiem’s (ATP 194) travails continued at the Gonet Geneva Open on Monday, as he suffered another first-round elimination to go with the ones he has already endured this season in Marbella, Belgrade, Estoril, Madrid and Rome. The Austrian went down 6-3 6-4 to the qualifier Marco Cecchinato (ATP 134). Victory was sweet for the Sicilian (photo), who gained a measure of revenge for his defeat to Thiem in the semi-finals at Roland-Garros in 2018.
Thiem’s latest loss was another backward step in his faltering preparations for Roland-Garros, now just a week away. His return from the wrist injury that had kept him sidelined for nearly nine months is proving arduous to say the least, though he still showed some flashes of brilliance in defeat, conjuring up not one but two tweeners in a single game to get the fans at the Parc des Eaux-Vives out of their seats.
One player who did manage to click today was Benoît Paire (ATP 67). The Frenchman rounded off a thoroughly entertaining day’s play by defeating Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori (ATP 61) 7-5 5-7 6-4 and will now face defending champion Casper Ruud on Thursday. The Geneva-based Paire had to conquer his demons in a contest that swung one way and then the next. Having failed to serve out the match at 7-5 5-4, he lost his way. It took a smashed racket – for which he incurred a penalty point – at the start of the final set for him to get back on track, to the great relief of a crowd committed to his cause.
