Ruud reaches first Rome final, downs Darderi

Casper Ruud reached his first Internazionali BNL d'Italia final in Rome on Friday, defeating home favourite Luciano Darderi 6-1, 6-1 in a match delayed by nearly two hours of rain. The 27-year-old Norwegian, who had lost at the semi-final stage in Rome three times before, benefited from Darderi's fatigue after the Italian had played until 2:30 am in his previous match. Ruud, who won the Madrid Masters last year, now faces World No. 1 Jannik Sinner on Sunday as he seeks his 15th tour-level title and second Masters 1000 crown.