Casper Ruud cruised past Federico Delbonis 6-3 6-3 in 1 hour and 39 minutes to reach the final at the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires without dropping a set during the week. The Norwegian player has improved his match record to 8-0. Ruud will face Diego Schwartzman, who edged Lorenzo Sonego in three sets.
After an early trade of breaks in the opening set, Ruud broke for the second time in the eighth game to take a 5-3 lead and served out for the first set in the ninth game.
Ruud fended off two consecutive breaks in the second game of the second set before earning a break in the third game. The Norwegian player went up a double break in the ninth game to seal the second set 6-3.
“I think I played my best match of the tournament today, so it feels very good. It gives me confidence for this Sunday’s final. I knew it would be a tough match against Delbonis. He always plays well on clay and hits heavy strokes. I think we play quite similarly and today I stepped up my game when I had to and played very solid throughout the match”, said Ruud.
Ruud set up a final against Diego Schwartzman, who beat Lorenzo Sonego 7-5 3-6 6-2 to improve his lead in his seven head-to-head matches against the Italian player to 5-2.
“For sure it could be a good experience against Diego Schwartzman in Buenos Aires. It would be fun to experience the atmosphere. I think the crowd are cheering for the Argentinians of course. This is normal, but they are fair to me and when we play good rallies they clap for both players”, said Ruud.
Schwartzman broke serve in the fifth game of the opening set to take a 4-2 lead. Sonego broke back in the 10th game to draw level to 5-5, but Schwartzman earned his second break in the 11th game to seal the first set 7-5.
Schwartzman went up a double break to race out to a 3-0 lead, but Sonego fought back by winning six consecutive games with three breaks to seal the second set 6-3.
Schwartzman converted his sixth break point in a eight-deuce second game of the third set. The home player cruised through to a 5-0 lead with a double break in the fourth game. Sonego pulled one of the two breaks back in the seventh game. Schwartzman fought off the late come-back from Sonego and sealed the third set 6-2 with a break on his second opportunity in the eighth game.
Schwartzman has reached his third final in Buenos Aires in four years after spending more than eight hours on court in the past three days.
Earlier on Saturday Schwartzman had beaten his compatriot Francisco Cerundolo 3-6 6-2 7-5 in a rain-delayed quarter final match.
“I am very happy to repeat the final one more time. I am very confident here. Sometimes I have to run for three hours to win, but it doesn’t matter. I just focus on the win and that’s the most important thing. I have to find the energy. Now I have a few hours to rest, to eat, and to be ready for tomorrow”, said Schwartzman.
