Ruud, Opelka advance to semifinals meeting at Geneva Open

Casper Ruud of Norway returns a ball to Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia during their quarter-final match, at the ATP 250 Geneva Open Tennis tournament in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday, May 19, 2022. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

GENEVA (AP) — Second-seeded Casper Ruud advanced to the Geneva Open semifinals in defence of his title by beating Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-4, 7-6 (3) on Thursday.

No. 8-ranked Ruud forced the only service break in the first set of a quarterfinals match that saw only four break-point chances created.

Ruud will next face fourth-seeded American Reilly Opelka, who beat Tallon Griekspoor 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

The 6-foot-11 (2.11-metre) Opelka fired 14 aces and won 85% of points when landing his first serve.

The other semifinals pairing Friday is Richard Gasquet and Joao Sousa, both now ranked in the 70s and aged in their mid-30s.

Gasquet beat Kamil Majchrzak 6-2, 6-4 on Thursday and Sousa, a past finalist at Geneva, won 7-5, 7-5 against Ilya Ivashka.

The clay-court tournament is one of the last warmups for the French Open that starts Sunday in Paris.

When submitting content, please abide by our  submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.
We use cookies to improve your experience. Learn More or change your cookie preferences. By continuing to use this site, you agree to the use of cookies.
close