Ruud to play one more day in front of home crowd, joined by De Minaur, Rublev and Bublik in UTS Oslo semis

Much to the delight of the the Norwegian crowd at UTS Oslo, Casper Ruud finished atop Group A as round-robin competition concluded on Saturday.

After beating Alexander Bublik compatriot Nicolai Budkov Kjaer, The Iceman improved to 3-0 this week and secured his spot in the semi-finals. He will face Alex de Minaur on Sunday, as the The Demon placed second in Group B. The other semi-final matchup pits Andrey “Rublo” Rublev (#1 in Group B) against Alexander Bublik (“The Bublik Enemy” — #2 in Group A).

“They really lifted me,” Ruud said of the fans after beating Bublik in sudden death. “It helped to have home-court advantage.”

The Iceman vs The Demon in SUNday’s semi-finals

Ruud will hope the home crowd works to his advantage again when he faces De Minaur in Sunday’s first semi-final showdown. They most recently faced each when The Demon prevailed 4-1, 4-0, 4-2 in a different kind of abbreviated tennis format at the 2019 NextGen ATP Finals. Their only other encounter has come at a clay-court Challenger event in 2018, won by The Iceman 6-3, 6-2.

“(It) will be very tough,” Ruud assured. “Last time I made it to the semi-finals I lost [to] Jack Draper. Hopefully I can seek my revenge and make it to the final…. It’s going to be a fun match. I’m happy that we’re playing at home for me.”

The Iceman preceded Saturday’s victories by defeating Holger “The Viking” Rune on Friday. De Minaur advanced with a 2-1 record, beating Gael “La Monf” Monfils and Benoit “The Rebel” Paire while losing to Rublo.

Rublo and The Bublik Enemy have a history

Rublev and Bublik have squared off six times, with the Russian leading the head-to-head series 4-2 (4-1 at the ATP level).

They met twice on grass last summer; Bublik won a three-setter in the Halle final before Rublev got revenge with a five-set victory at Wimbledon. That fourth-round thriller produced one of the shots of the year, when Rublo fired a diving forehand winner while serving for the match at 5-4, 30-15 in the fifth.

Rublo is 3-0 in Oslo with wins over The Rebel, The Demon and Lucas “The French Flair” Pouille.

The Bublik Enemy is 2-1; he defeated Dominic Thiem, got a walkover from The Viking and lost to The Iceman in Sudden Death.

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