Just a week-and-a-half after losing to Nicolas Jarry in the Geneva Open, Casper Ruud gained revenge at the French Open to book his place in the quarter-finals.
The match might have only lasted three sets but each of them could have gone either way as Ruud recovered from a break down in the latter two for a 7-6, 7-5, 7-5 victory.
Last year’s Paris finalist has struggled for much of this season but appears to be playing himself into form at just the right time to put himself in the conversation with the likes of Carlos Alacaraz and Novak Djokovic for the title in the injured Rafael Nadal’s absence.
For Jarry, it was a jarring loss. The big-serving Czech could have taken any of the three sets but will instead be left to rue on the manner and sheer number of his unforced errors.
Ruud, meanwhile, was dogged throughout even when on the back foot and used the length and breadth of Court Philippe Chatrier to good effect to slow down and frustrate his opponent.
Following the win, the Norwegian said: “It was great for me. Three very, very tough sets, three hours and 20 minutes. Today, I can thank my team for pushing me every day in practice. I felt physically good. I’m happy to be back in the quarter-finals.
“But it was difficult. His serve is great, he plays very aggressive. I think I managed to do well. I was down a break in both the second and third… but I was able to stay in and neutralise a little his serve.”
Ruud will face Holger Rune in the last-eight, with the 20-year-old needing a super tie-break to get past Francisco Cerundolo. Rune battled his way to a 7-6 3-6 6-4 1-6 7-6 victory and now turns his attention to a familiar foe.
Ruud came out on top when the pair met in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros 12 months ago, but Rune got some degree of revenge just a couple of weeks ago when winning in three sets at the Italian Open.
Alexander Zverev, back at the tournament where he picked up a serious ankle injury last year, is also through to the quarter-finals after a comfortable 6-1 6-4 6-3 win over Grigor Dimitrov. The German is a strong favourite to reach the last-four for the third year in a row in Paris, with his next assignement a match against Tomas Martin Etcheverry, who beat Yoshihito Nishioka 7-6 6-0 6-1 on Monday.
