Casper Ruud booked his place in a maiden Italian Open final with a dominant performance against home hope Luciano Darderi.
Ruud defeated Darderi in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1, to advance to the championship match at the ATP Masters 1000 event.
The Norwegian has enjoyed a strong campaign in Rome thus far, having dropped just one set during the run, which came in his quarterfinal bout with Karen Khachanov.
Can any of these four players stop Jannik Sinner winning the French Open this year?
Is there anyone else you think could be a threat to Sinner?
His final opponent will come in the form of either Jannik Sinner or Daniil Medvedev, who had their semifinal match suspended on Friday night due to rain delays.
With his victory, Ruud has now achieved a feat nobody else on the ATP Tour can match.
Casper Ruud makes another clay-court ATP Masters 1000 final
According to Opta Ace, Ruud is now the only player in men’s tennis to reach a final at a clay-court ATP Masters 1000 event in each of the last three seasons.
Ruud made the final of the Monte-Carlo Masters in 2024, the final of the Madrid Open in 2025 and now Rome.
Despite his excellence on the surface, Ruud has just one clay-court Masters crown, the 2025 Madrid Open, which is also his only Masters trophy altogether.
Is men’s tennis boring without Carlos Alcaraz?
Last year, Ruud finally got his hands on an ATP Masters 1000 title by beating Jack Draper in the final in three sets.
Ruud will now have the chance to clinch a second Masters title and 15th overall to give himself plenty of momentum heading into Roland Garros.
Casper Ruud analyses the conditions at the Italian Open
Speaking in his post-match press conference after making the final, Ruud said: I think I came here on Saturday two weeks ago to prepare and get ready.
“Obviously, these two tournaments back-to-back are quite long because they’re played over the total amount of a month or four weeks. We know that now.
“Honestly the first days I was not feeling the ball great. I was feeling quite tired because the rallies here are a bit different than in Madrid. In Madrid you get much more free points with your serve. The big servers really can take use of that. But here you have to build and play more points.
“I was thinking if I feel a bit tired or feel these conditions, the opponent probably feels the same. So we are all in the same situation.
“I got off to a good start in the tournament and built some confidence from there. I think the match with Lehecka that I won in third round was building momentum and confidence for me. From there I’ve been trying to focus on the things that went well there and keep it going, improve even more if I can.
“Every day I felt a bit better and better. The couple of sets against Khachanov and today are some of the best I felt on court in a long time. So that’s a good feeling.”
Ruud is currently ranked 25th in the world, having been as high as number two.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
