Norwegian Casper Ruud reached the final of the Stockholm Open on Saturday evening, defeating Canadian Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 6-4 in 80 minutes at the Kungliga Tennishallen. Ruud, the tournament’s second seed and world No. 12, will face Frenchman Ugo Humbert, the No. 4 seed, in Sunday’s championship match.
Ruud’s Solid Semifinal Win
Ruud displayed clinical efficiency throughout. He broke Shapovalov twice in the first set and once in the second set, showcasing his strong baseline game and tactical serving. “I served extremely well today; that’s what made the difference,” Ruud said.
“Denis is a dangerous player, so I tried to keep him uncomfortable, especially on the return games. It’s an amazing feeling to reach a Stockholm final”. This marked Ruud’s 26th career final and his eighth on hard courts.
Shapovalov, ranked No. 23, came into the match with victories over Swedish wildcards Elias Ymer and Leo Borg. He struggled with 12 unforced errors and was unable to convert second-serve opportunities. “Casper was rock solid from start to finish,” said Shapovalov. “I felt I played well in patches, but he didn’t give me much to work with”.
Humbert Advances as Rune Retires
In the other semifinal, Frenchman Ugo Humbert advanced to his 10th ATP Tour final, but not without controversy and drama as top seed Holger Rune retired due to injury with the score at 4-6, 2-2 in the second set. Rune, the world No. 11 and 2022 Stockholm champion, had won the first set and was looking to extend his dominance over Humbert, having led their head-to-head series 5-0.