Casper Ruud edges past Etcheverry to make Barcelona final

Casper Ruud, the No 3 seed, has reached the final of the Barcelona Open, beating Argentinian Tomas Martin Etcheverry, the No 13 seed, 7-6 (6), 6-4 at Real Club de Tenis Barcelona.

It is the Norwegian’s second consecutive final – both coming during the clay-court swing – having also reached the showpiece event in Monte-Carlo last week, losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas.

A rematch of that final remains very much on the cards, as Tsitsipas takes on Dusan Lajovic in the tournament’s second semi-final later today.

This win also means that Ruud has now made four ATP finals already this season, but he is yet to win a title in 2024 having been runner-up in all three previous finals.

The Norwegian beat Frenchman Alexandre Muller (6-3, 6-4), Australian Jordan Thompson, the No 14 seed (6-1, 6-4) and Italian Matteo Arnaldi (6-4, 6-3) en route to the final.

In the previous rounds of the Barcelona tournament, Etcheverry, ranked No 30, won against Dominican qualifier Nick Hardt (7-5, 6-2), American Brandon Nakashima (3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4) and No 12 seed Cameron Norrie (7-6 (4), 7-6 (1)).

Barcelona ATP 500, other semi-final result (Real Club de Tenis Barcelona, clay, EUR 2.782.960):

• Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Dusan Lajovic