Rafael Nadal cheers on Casper Ruud as Norwegian clinches Geneva Open 2024 title ahead of French Open

Rafael Nadal congratulated Casper Ruud on his victory at the 2024 Geneva Open, just before the French Open begins. This marked the third Geneva title for the Norwegian.

Ruud, seeded second, kicked off his campaign at the ATP 250 claycourt tournament in Geneva in the second round after receiving a first-round bye. He started strong by defeating Sebastian Ofner 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 in the round of 16 and continued his winning streak by overcoming Sebastian Baez 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in the quarterfinals.

The former World No. 2 faced Italian Flavio Cobolli in the semifinals, where he fought back from a set down to secure a hard-fought victory with a score of 1-6, 6-1, 7-6(4).

With this win, he secured his place in the final, where he faced Tomas Machac, who had caused a major upset by defeating World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. Ruud defeated Machac 7-5, 6-3 to claim the title.

Following his win, Ruud took to social media to share a series of photos from his time at the Geneva Open, including pictures of himself and his team with the trophy.

"Thanks, Genève, it’s always such a pleasure. I’m very happy with my week and grateful for my team and the support we’ve received this week 🙏🏻 Now off to Paris 🇫🇷 ," Ruud captioned his Instagram post.

Casper Ruud's win garnered praise from Rafael Nadal, who commented with a few emojis on his post.

"🙌 👏 👏 🙌 ," he commented.

Screen grab of Rafael Nadal's comment under Casper Ruud's post

This was Casper Ruud's 12th ATP Tour trophy and his third Geneva Open title. He won the tournament in 2021 by defeating Denis Shapovalov 7-5, 6-4 in the final, and in 2022 by overcoming Joao Sousa 7-6, 4-6, 7-6 in the championship match.

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Both Casper Ruud and Rafael Nadal will soon begin their French Open 2024 campaigns

Ruud pictured with the Spaniard (L) at the 2022 French Open (Source: Getty Images)

Casper Ruud and Rafael Nadal will kick off their campaigns at the 2024 French Open on Monday, May 27.

Seeded seventh, Ruud was originally scheduled to play against Jakub Mensik in the first round. However, Mensik has withdrawn from the tournament, which means that Ruud will face qualifier Felipe Meligeni Alves in the opening round.

Ruud was the runner-up at the 2022 and 2023 French Open. In 2022, he was defeated by Rafael Nadal in the final, with the Spaniard going on to claim his 14th French Open title and 22nd Grand Slam title overall. In 2023, Novak Djokovic defeated Ruud in the final to secure his third French Open title and his 23rd Grand Slam title overall.

Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal, who is potentially playing his final season as a professional player, will take on fourth seed Alexander Zverev in his first match at Roland Garros.