Rain, Ruthlessness and Ruud: Norwegian Reaches Rome Final in Style at Italian Open

Casper Ruud produced a commanding performance to reach the Italian Open final for the first time, overpowering home favourite Luciano Darderi in a semifinal shaped by rain delays in Rome on Friday.

Ruud was in complete control before a nearly two-hour rain interruption halted play, with the Norwegian leading 4-1 in the first set when the match was suspended. When play resumed, he showed no signs of losing focus, closing out a dominant 6-1, 6-1 victory with clinical precision.

The result underlines Ruud’s strong clay-court form at the Foro Italico, where he has dropped only one set this year. Once ranked as high as world No. 2, he is currently outside the top 20 but will return to the top 20 rankings next week after this deep run. He has previously reached two Roland Garros finals , finishing runner-up to Rafael Nadal in 2022 and Novak Djokovic in 2023.

Darderi, who had enjoyed a breakthrough run in Rome, struggled to recover after a physically demanding week , including late-night matches and a quarterfinal that finished around 2 a.m., leaving him short of energy against Ruud’s intensity.

In the other semifinal, the clash between Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev was suspended due to rain interruption with Sinner leading 6-2, 5-7, 4-2 when play stopped.

Sinner, who began strongly, began showing signs of fatigue as Medvedev raised his level with sharp drop shots and deep groundstrokes. The Italian was seen bending over between points and received treatment on his right thigh during the contest.

The match will resume on Saturday, with the winner set to face Ruud in a highly anticipated Italian Open final showdown .

In the women’s draw, Coco Gauff will meet Elina Svitolina in the final, rounding off a rain-hit but high-intensity week at the Italian Open in Rome , the final major warm-up before the French Open.