Casper Ruud routinely secured his place in the Italian Open final by defeating Luciano Darderi in straight sets in Rome.<\/p>\n
Despite a lengthy rain delay, Ruud was able to beat the Italian 6-1 6-1 to reach the Rome final, where he will play either Daniil Medvedev or Jannik Sinner.<\/p>\n
Ruud has now reached the final of all three Masters event on clay court, following previous final appearances at the Madrid Open and the Monte Carlo Masters.<\/p>\n
The star has been in impressive form in Rome as he\u2019s picked up victories against Zachary Svajda, Jiri Lehecka, Lorenzo Musetti, Karen Khachanov, and now Darderi.<\/p>\n
Speaking on-court after the victory against the Italian, he said: \u201cIt feels great. A bit sorry for Luciano today. Playing at home and probably not with the most of energy. It\u2019s understandable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
More ATP Tour news<\/p>\n
Alexander Zverev issues statement after withdrawing ATP event just before Roland Garros<\/a><\/p>\n Daniil Medvedev reveals \u2018what he\u2019s going to try to do\u2019 against Jannik Sinner<\/a><\/p>\n Ruud<\/a> believes Darderi\u2019s<\/a> exploits against Rafael Jodar<\/a> in his quarter-final match was the real reason he was able to win the match at a canter.<\/p>\n \u201cHe finished at 2:30 the other night. What a match he had and what a tournament he\u2019s had. Luckily for me I was done much earlier than him that day. I had more time to recover and get ready. It\u2019s my 10th semifinal in 1000s and it\u2019s his first.<\/p>\n \u201cSo you try to use that experience to your advantage and I think I did that well today. He was maybe a bit stressed and a bit nervous of the occasion. I tried to stay focused and in my own tunnel vision in a way. I think I did well. I was forcing a lot of errors out of his racquet.\u201d<\/p>\n The Norwegian will now watch on eagerly as Medvedev<\/a> plays Sinner<\/a> for a chance to play Ruud in the final. Ruud was typically coy about which player he wants to play in the final.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will be a tough match no matter who it is. Either it will be a guy who cannot lose it seems like. Or it will be Daniil who won this tournament before. Both are great players and incredible athletes,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201cIf it\u2019s Jannik it will be another test for me and hopefully I can get some sort of revenge from last time we played.. See if I can do better. No easy task no matter who it is. I\u2019m really proud and happy to be in the final here for the first time. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a good feeling after a bit of a troubled year. These things have really kind of kick started the season now. Let\u2019s see if I can keep it going.\u201d<\/p>\n