(Tennis news) Even though Casper Ruud was navigating his preferred surface by the middle of the clay-court season, he was still having trouble. Ruud’s form had deteriorated a year after his breakthrough 2022 season, when he advanced to the finals of the French and US Open tournaments and shot up to No. 2 in the world. He played tight, tense tennis while deep behind the baseline, giving his rivals the upper hand.
Ruud continued to keep his head down. He put in a lot of effort and had a good outlook, and in the greatest clay tournament, his steadfast mentality helped him succeed further. Ruud defeated Holger Rune 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in a highly anticipated rematch of the all-Scandinavian rivalry match from the previous year. With the victory, Ruud advanced to his second consecutive French Open semi-final.
A year prior, the 2022 quarterfinal between Holger and Casper had been anticipated as a fun matchup between two Scandinavian players, a rarity in the later stages of big competitions. It ended up being the championship bout with the most fighting. Their parents openly intervened after Holger accused Casper of yelling “Jaaa!” in his face while celebrating in the locker room. Ruud was perplexed by Rune’s shady sportsmanship.
This follow-up was far less spectacular. Holger Rune appeared slow right away. He had a shaky start, making careless mistakes with both groundstrokes. When in such a mindset, Rune just so happened to be playing against one of the toughest opponents while being slow and laborious and frequently bailing himself out of points with worn-out drop shots. Casper Ruud wore down his worn-out opponent with arduous rallies and his powerful forehand. He didn’t give him any easy points.
Two sets down, Rune finally found his life. Early in the third set, he broke Casper’s serve and maintained his lead the entire time, displaying his stroke diversity and shotmaking to force a fourth set. As he comfortably concluded the match, Ruud rose to the occasion with a stellar set of his own. He dominated with his forehand, served brilliantly under pressure, and had excellent touches at the net.
Ruud now has a 5-1 advantage in the head-to-head matchup, so it was a significant victory for him. Although the first five months of the year were incredibly challenging, he persisted and throughout the most crucial part of the clay season, he set himself up to reach another grand slam final.
After the German, Alexander Zverev defeated Argentina’s Tomás Martin Etcheverry in a quarterfinal matchup by scores of 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, Ruud will play against Alexander Zverev in the semi finals.
Also read: Casper Ruud set to take on Holger Rune in the French Open
