Ruud topples Shapovalov in Geneva final; Gauff grabs Parma crown

Casper Ruud said he would prepare for the French Open as if it was the biggest tournament of his career after claiming his second-ever title in Geneva on Saturday.

Ruud won the ATP Geneva Open final with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 victory over Denis Shapovalov and is now looking to “do some damage” at Roland Garros when the second Grand Slam of the year begins on May 30.

Victory in Geneva means the Norwegian world number 21 is going to be among the top 16 seeds in Paris.

Saturday’s win at the Eaux-Vives club completed an impressive clay court build-up to the French Open, with Ruud having reached the semi-finals at Monte Carlo, Munich and Madrid.

“It’s a good confidence booster for Roland Garros,” the 22-year-old said afterwards.

“I have to prepare as if it’s the biggest tournament of my life, and it will be one of the most important ones.

“Hopefully the form I’ve been showing recently can also affect the other players: that they will think it will be a tough challenge if they play me.”

Ruud said Friday he would prepare for Paris by hitting with 13-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal at the Spaniard’s Mallorca base next week.

“It’s important to keep the intensity and the focus up and in one way, try to pretend that this never happened, in the sense that you need to work hard every day in the coming days to Paris,” he told reporters after winning the Geneva title.

“When we talk about Roland Garros, I will be top 16 seeded this year. It will be a benefit with the seeding who you will play in the first matches.

“I hope I can do some damage. I hope to be in the second week of Roland Garros.”

Geneva was Ruud’s second career title, with the right-hander having won Buenos Aires last year.

Canadian world number 15 Shapovalov also went into the Swiss tournament in form, having given Nadal a fright earlier this month in Rome, holding two match points against the eventual champion.

Gauff sweeps past Wang to win second WTA title: American teenager Coco Gauff swept aside China’s Wang Qiang to win her second WTA career title on clay in Parma on Saturday.

Third seed Gauff won through 6-1, 6-3 against Wang, the sixth seed, in 74 minutes to add to her hardcourt title in Linz in 2019.

After reaching the semi-finals on clay in the Italian Open in Rome last week, 17-year-old Gauff dropped only one set en route to the title in Parma, just one week before Roland Garros.

Gauff, who is ranked 30 in the world and has won 20 of her last 26 matches, saved each of four break points in her first meeting with the 29-year-old Wang. The Chinese player was looking for her third title and first outside China.

“It definitely means a lot, especially on clay, which is not really a surface I feel like people associate with me,” said Gauff.

“I always liked clay, but I always fall on it, I always get dirty!”

“I have good results on it, so it’s not about my performance. It’s just that clay shows you a little extra love than the other surfaces do.”

Gauff later made it a clean sweep of the titles in Parma, as she paired with Caty McNally to win the doubles.

The Amercian pair defeated second seeds Darija Jurak and Andreja Klepac, 6-3, 6-2.

Tsitsipas to meet Norrie in Lyon final: Meanwhile, world number five Stefanos Tsitsipas came from a set down to beat Lorenzo Musetti 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 on Saturday and reach the final of the ATP event in Lyon.

In Sunday’s final, the 22-year-old Greek will face Britain’s Cameron Norrie who raced past Karen Khachanov 6-1, 6-1 in the other semi-final.

Norrie, 25, had already played on Saturday morning having beaten French hope Arthur Rinderknech 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in a quarter-final suspended overnight with the last set still to play.

Musetti, 19, came into the event as an alternate but made the most of his chance with wins over seventh seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, Sebastian Korda and Aljaz Bedene.

Agence France-Presse