Andrey Rublev continued his winning buildup to the French Open on Saturday as he beat Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-2 to reach the Hamburg Open final.
The Russian hit four aces on his way to winning in 1 hour, 23 minutes against Ruud, who has the most clay-court wins of anyone on the ATP tour this season with 15.
Rublev advanced to his third career clay final and seventh overall. Now 24-6 in tour matches this season, he equaled his achievement of reaching the final in Hamburg last year when he lost in three sets to Nikoloz Basilashvili.
Andrej Rubljow of Russia returns in the semifinal against Casper Ruud of Norway at the ATP Tennis European Open in Hamburg, Germany, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020 The Russian beat the Norwegian Ruud 6-4, 6-2 in the first semi-final of the 1.2 million Euro sand court event. (Daniel Bockwoldtdpa via AP)
Stefanos Tsitsipas plays Cristian Garin in the other semifinal later Saturday.
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Casper Ruud of Norway reacts in the semifinal against Andrej Rubljow of Russia at the ATP Tennis European Open in Hamburg, Germany, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020 The Russian beat the Norwegian Ruud 6-4, 6-2 in the first semi-final of the 1.2 million Euro sand court event. (Daniel Bockwoldtdpa via AP)