French Open 2023: Casper Ruud geared up for Zverev challenge; says great to see German back in semi-final
Following his impressive victory in the Quarter Finals of French Open 2023, Casper Ruud is now prepared to lock horns with Zverev in the semi final fixture match.
FollowFrench Open 2023 witnessed a captivating quarterfinal match between Casper Ruud and Holger Rune. Ruud defeated Rune 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in the French Open quarterfinals for the second year in a row on Wednesday.
Although Rune put up a brave fight in the third set, unleashing some impressive forehand shots, the Dane ultimately fell short due to his 30 unforced errors in the first two sets.
Casper Ruud has secured his second consecutive semifinal appearance at Roland Garros. Ruud expressed his delight, considering the challenges he has faced throughout the year, stating that it may be his most significant victory of the year. The rematch of their 2022 quarterfinal revealed a transformed Ruud, displaying composure against the dynamic but inconsistent No. 6 seed. The match concluded after two hours and 44 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
After this fantastic win, Rudd is now set to lock horns with Zverev Casper Ruud geared up for Zverev challenge; says great to see German back in semi-final
This win showed the remarkable progress made by the 20-year-old since his first Grand Slam quarterfinal exactly one year ago, including winning his first Masters 1000 title at the Rolex Paris Masters and reaching two more Masters finals on clay in Monte Carlo and Rome.
On the other hand, after a hard-fought match, Holger Rune admitted that he had a challenging time with accuracy, struggling to keep the ball within the court, while Ruud appeared to effortlessly navigate through the first two sets. Rune took to social media to congratulate the Norwegian on his win and wished him luck for the remainder of the tournament.
“He deserved to win because, first of all, I wasn't there the first two sets, but you cannot allow yourself to do that when you play a player like Casper, and any player at the top of the game, because it's too long of a way back,” Rune said after the match. “Credit to him for staying there.”
It was only after a tense second game of the third that Rune found his footing, attacking the net to score his first break of the match and ride that momentum into a fourth.
“Compared to Rome, the last two sets that he played there—the last two sets of Rome and compared to the first two sets today was pretty different obviously, and the level was very different,” Rune said.
