Timely. Casper Ruud won his first victory against a Top 10 this year (the 10th of his career) on Wednesday, beating Holger Rune 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to advance to the semi-finals. Roland Garros final. By imposing his physique and his consistency. A match concluded with a respectful handshake. Far from the electricity that lit their duel last year. “I wanted to go back to the semi-finals, which is done. I have the impression that my game is improving lap after lap”, rejoiced Casper Ruud after having punched his ticket for a 3rd major semi-final. His forehand has regained its effectiveness, his whole game has more consistency. And the weight of conformation (from the finals of Roland-Garros, the US Open and the Masters in 2022) is fading. And without making noise, Ruud settles down, weighs in 3 semi-finals in the last 5 Grand Slam tournaments.
In a press conference, the seeded No. 4, guaranteed to stay in the Top 5 at the end of the tournament, with disheveled hair, summarized in a press conference at 0:41 a.m.: “This is perhaps my best match on clay this year. The first two sets went by quickly, I can’t say I was playing amazing, he was double faulting, a few faults. I’m happy to be back after losing the 3rd, I’m happy.”
For a place in the final, the Norwegian will face Alexander Zverev back on stage this Friday, a year after the serious right ankle injury that broke him in his tracks in the Roland semi-finals. -Garros against Rafael Nadal. Ruud points out, “I hope it’s going to be fun. It’s great to see Sasha back. The year has been difficult for him and the season has not been good for me, we will try to take advantage of the moment. »
