An exciting week in Geneva comes to a close but not before a blockbuster clash on the court. Second seed Denis Shapovalov takes on third seed Casper Ruud in the championship match in what promises to be a fitting end to the 2021 ATP Geneva Open. Who among these two takes the all important trophy heading into Roland Garros is the big question. As ever, we at LWOT preview and predict the final.
ATP Geneva Open Final Prediction
Casper Ruud vs Denis Shapovalov
Head to head – First Meeting
Denis Shapovalov’s clay court season this year has shown signs of improvement, and one could venture out to say that he’s peaking just in time for Roland Garros. The Canadian endured a heartbreaking loss to Rafael Nadal but has carried the sublime tennis he played in Rome to the courts in Geneva. His one hander has been mighty aggressive which is no easy feat to achieve on clay. Apart from that, his serving this week bodes well for the Canadian and it’ll be an important metric he’d want to be on the right side of in the final.
Casper Ruud, meanwhile, has kind of flown under the radar this clay court season despite the Norwegian reaching the semis in Monte-Carlo and Madrid. Watching Ruud play, there are a lot of things to like about his game. His ground strokes are heavy and full of work, the likes of which are very effective on clay. Ruud manages to generate a lot of topspin in his shots which is always an asset on slow bouncy courts. It’s been one strong performance after another this week and regardless of the result in the final, he’s someone to watch out for come Roland Garros.
Coming to the final, Shapovalov has to expect a lot of traffic directed towards his backhand as Ruud will surely use his topspin forehand to unsettle the Canadian’s one hander. Serve wise, Shapovalov will get more free points. But won’t prove to be decisive as Ruud is a solid returner who should start reading serves as the match goes long. This match has all the ingredients to go the distance. Shapovalov’s aggressive mindset will yield him a set, but Ruud’s consistency from the baseline will frustrate the Canadian into committing errors at important junctures. Expect a tight see-saw battle with Ruud capturing his second career title.
Prediction: Ruud in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
