By the midpoint of the clay-court season, even as he navigated his favourite surface, Casper Ruud was still struggling. A year on from his breakout 2022, when he reached the final at the French and US Open tournaments, rising to world No 2, Ruud’s form had collapsed. He played nervous and tight tennis, retreating far behind the baseline, allowing opponents to dominate.
Still, Ruud kept his head down. He worked hard with a positive attitude and in the biggest clay tournament, his unwavering mentality has afforded him more success. In a highly anticipated reprise of the all-Scandinavian grudge match last year, Ruud impressively held off a late surge from an otherwise tired Holger Rune to reach his second consecutive French Open semi-final with a 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win.
In this same stage a year ago, Rune and Ruud’s 2022 quarter-final had been billed as a feelgood meeting between two Scandinavian players, a rare sight in the latter rounds of major tournaments. It turned out to be the most fractious match of the championship. Rune accused Ruud of screaming “Jaaa!” in his face in the locker room while gloating, Ruud was bemused by Rune’s questionable sportsmanship and it ended with their parents publicly wading in.
This sequel was far less of a spectacle. From the beginning, Rune looked sluggish. He came out of the gate flat, spraying unforced errors off both groundstrokes. As Rune was slow and laboured, continually bailing himself out of points with tired drop shots, he happened to be facing one of the most difficult opponents when in such a mood. Ruud offered his weary opponent no easy points, grinding him down in lengthy rallies and using his heavy forehand.
Down two sets, Rune finally came alive. He broke Ruud’s serve early in the third set and kept himself ahead throughout, showing off his variety and shotmaking to force a fourth set. Ruud responded to the challenge with a brilliant set of his own, dominating with his forehand, serving well under pressure and producing nice touches at the net as he confidently closed off the match.
It was a considerable achievement for Ruud, who now leads the head-to-head 5-1. The first five months of the year have been extremely difficult but he has persevered and in the most important part of the clay season, he has put himself in position to make another grand slam final.
Ruud will face Alexander Zverev for the privilege after the German defeated Tomás Martin Etcheverry of Argentina 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in their quarter-final.
