Thu. Nov 21st, 2024
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Andrey Rublev hits a backhand shot
Andrey Rublev reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals where he was beaten by Novak Djokovic

Andrey Rublev beat Casper Ruud in straight sets to claim the Swedish Open title in Bastad.

Russia’s world number seven, 25, defeated Norway’s Ruud 7-6 (7-3) 6-0 to win his second title of the year.

Elsewhere, Pedro Cachin, 28, won his first career title beating 35-year-old Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas 3-6 6-0 7-5 in the Swiss Open final.

The clay-court events are traditionally played after Wimbledon and before the US hard-court swing begins.

World number four Ruud, 24, won the Bastad title in 2021 but could not repeat that success, beaten by Rublev who has already won a title on clay this season at the Monte Carlo Masters 1000 event.

Argentine Cachin, ranked 90th in the world, will move to a career-high ranking of 49 on Monday with his maiden title win in Gstaad, Switzerland.

Ramos-Vinolas was a break up in the third set but could not capitalise to win what would have been his fifth career title.

At the Hungarian Grand Prix event in Budapest, 19-year-old Russian Maria Timofeeva won her first career title in her maiden WTA Tour main-draw appearance with victory over Ukrainian Kateryna Baindl.

Lucky loser Timofeeva beat 29-year-old Baindl 6-3 3-6 6-0 in the final of the clay-court tournament.

China’s Qinwen Zheng also captured her first WTA title at the Palermo Open, the 20-year-old beating Jasmine Paolini, 27, of Italy 6-4, 1-6, 6-1.

Elsewhere, French veteran Adrian Mannarino, 35, beat 18-year-old American Alex Michelsen 6-2 6-4 to win the third ATP Tour title of his career at the Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island.

Croatia clinch Hopman Cup

Croatia won the Hopman Cup for the second time as they defeated Switzerland 2-0 in the final in Nice.

World number 22 Donna Vekic, 27, started Croatia’s day with a 6-3 6-4 win over Celine Naef, who is ranked 157.

Borna Coric, 26, ranked 15th in the world, sealed the tie with a 6-1 6-4 victory over 21-year-old Leandro Riedi, the world number 160.

Croatia repeated their 1996 Hopman Cup final win, when they also beat four-time champions Switzerland.

The mixed team event returned after a four-year absence, having been replaced by the short-lived ATP Cup men’s team event.

The last edition of the Hopman Cup in 2019, named after Australian great Harry Hopman, saw Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic lead Switzerland to the title against Germany.

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