Novak Djokovic and Casper Ruud seemed on track to clash for the title in Geneva, but the top seed eventually didn’t make it to the final. Instead, the two-time champion (2021-22) will take on Tomas Machac, who is making his ATP Tour final debut. Who do you think will prevail?
ATP Geneva Final Prediction
Tomas Machac vs Casper Ruud
Head-to-head: Ruud 1-0 Machac
This clay season hadn’t been going too well for Tomas Machac, it’s also generally the surface he can do the least damage to top-quality players on. But that doesn’t apply in the faster conditions in Geneva. The Czech didn’t have the toughest draw to the semifinals, still scoring a nice win over Jack Draper. But in the final four, he had to take out World No. 1 Novak Djokovic. It was one of those victories where you know the opponent wasn’t at his best and yet you still have to show mental strength to close out the greatest of all time.
Casper Ruud won Geneva twice in 2021 and 2022 and in the latter edition it didn’t stop him from reaching the final at Roland Garros. That explains why the Norwegian isn’t afraid of wearing himself out before the Parisian clay, even if playing twice in a day is far from an ideal situation. He even had to dig deep against Flavio Cobolli in the semifinals and fought back from 1-4 in the deciding set (saving a match point at 4-5). With his eyes on the title, Ruud is hoping to become the 1st player to claim the title in Geneva three times (2 – Ruud, Wawrinka, Wilander).
Can Machac complete his dream week? He should be fresher than Ruud, even if that 3-setter with Cobolli was relatively short. The altitude in Geneva gives him the ability to take the ball early and apply pressure to the Norwegian off the ground. While Ruud is not going down without a fight and has an excellent record in Geneva, it feels like Machac should have his chances. Grabbing his maiden title with consecutive Top 10 wins would be a truly awesome effort.
Prediction: Machac in 3
Main photo credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
