KITZBÜHEL, August 2, 2019
Albert Ramos-Vinolas extended his winning streak on the ATP Tour to nine matches. The unseeded Spaniard, who clinched the title at the Swiss Open Gstaad last week, defeated Norwegian young gun Casper Ruud 7-5, 6-4 on Friday afternoon to book a spot in the singles final of the Generali Open Kitzbühel.
Despite a bit of drizzle in the Tyrolean mountains, Centre Court was packed again when Ramos-Vinolas won 54 per cent of the total points played, breaking his opponent’s serve four times to secure victory in one hour and 43 minutes.
Gstaad Champion 🏆
Kitzbühel finalist…@albertramos88 beats Ruud 7-5 6-4 and extends his winning streak on Tour to nine matches! #GeneraliOpen pic.twitter.com/Lp60079KRe— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 2, 2019
“It was my first match on Centre Court and it was a great atmosphere,” Ramos-Vinolas said. “I played a good match. I was also a bit lucky with the rain, as it helped me to be more aggressive on the court. I like the altitude here.”
The 31-year-old Spaniard appeared in his third consecutive semi-final following his run to the final four in Bastad and winning his second ATP career crown in Switzerland last week.
“When I arrived from Gstaad I felt a bit tired, as travelling through the mountains was very long. The first match was very difficult and I had to play three sets fighting for three hours. The matches in the following were a bit shorter. I feel better now than at the beginning of the week.”
Ramos-Vinolas will take on home favourite Dominic Thiem in Saturday’s championship match. The World No. 69 could win one of the two previous meetings with the Austrian at Chengdu, China in 2016.
“I won’t tell you the key,” the Barcelona native laughed. “But I have to give 100 per cent again in tomorrow’s final. That’s for sure.”
After a rain delay, Thiem edged past Lorenzo Sonego of Italy, winning 6-3, 7-6(6). In the pair’s first meeting, the top seed from Austria capitalized on two of his three break point chances to prevail after one hour and 42 minutes. Thiem finished runner up at Kitzbühel in 2014 and is vying for his first title on home soil.
