Casper Ruud wins Swiss Open, claims his ninth ATP title
Top seed Casper Ruud beat Italy's Matteo Berrettini to win the Swiss Open on Sunday. Ruud staged a terrific comeback in the final, winning 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-2. The Norwegian has won the ninth ATP title of his career and third in the ongoing season. Ruud snaps the 12-match unbeaten streak of Berrettini, who lifted trophies in Stuttgart and London earlier this year.
Ruud had entered the Swiss Open as the defending champion. The youngster claimed a straight-set win over Jiri Lehecka in the last 16. Ruud defeated Jaume Munar in the quarter-final and Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the semi-final. The top seed was crowned champion after beating Berrettini. As a result, Ruud has improved his tour-level record in Switzerland to 16-0.
Comeback Casper 💪
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) July 24, 2022
The moment @CasperRuud98 defeated Berrettini from a set down to capture the 2022 Gstaad title! pic.twitter.com/bYYnd7mLJ0
Ruud has the most wins on clay in the last 52 weeks (33-7). The likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Diego Schwartzman, and Sebastian Baez follow Ruud on the list. Ruud's each of the three titles this year have come on clay courts (also in Geneva and Buenos Aires). Interestingly, Ruud has won eight of his nine ATP titles on this surface. .
Ruud now has a 3-2 lead over Berrettini in the ATP head-to-head series. Interestingly, the duo hasn't managed to win back-to-back matches against each other as of now. In 2021, Berrettini defeated Ruud in the semi-finals of Madrid Masters.
Earlier this year, Ruud finished as the runner-up at the French Open, losing to Spanish ace Rafael Nadal. It was Ruud's best result a Grand Slam. Earlier, he had become the first Norwegian to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final.
It is to note that Berrettini reached his first-ever ATP semi-final on clay at the Swiss Open in 2018. He won that tournament without dropping a set, having defeated Radu Albot, Andrey Rublev, Feliciano Lopez, Jurgen Zopp, and Roberto Bautista Agut. In just his second appearance at Gstaad this time, Berrettini reached the final again. However, he finished as the runner-up this time.
Earlier this year, Berrettini defeated Filip Krajinovic 7-5, 6-2 to win the 2022 Queen's Club Championships. It was his successive trophy as he had earlier beaten Andy Murray to win the Stuttgart Open. Berrettini then pulled out of 2022 Wimbledon after testing positive for COVID-19. He could have extended his winning streak to 13 matches by winning a third consecutive title, at Gstaad.
