Alexander Zverev’s opponent in the semi-finals at the French Open is certain: last year’s finalist Casper Ruud beat Danish shooting star Holger Rune again late on Wednesday evening in the new edition of last year’s quarter-finals. After the 6: 1, 6: 2, 3: 6, 6: 3, the Norwegian now meets the Olympic champion on Friday.
“I’m happy to see Sascha back in the semi-finals after his injury. It’s going to be a good match and we’ll both give our all,” said Ruud after the game, which was particularly intense at the beginning. In the emotional sixth duel between the two Scandinavians, Ruud celebrated his fifth victory.
Rune seemed nervous and overexcited at first and produced a number of double faults. After successful actions, but also after mistakes by his opponent, the 20-year-old cheered loudly and goaded the audience. Ruud was undeterred, he had more problems in the third set, but kept his nerve.
The 24-year-old, who also reached the final at the US Open last year, can continue to dream of his first Grand Slam title. Rune, on the other hand, failed as in the previous year in the round of the top eight against Ruud – the Norwegian had also won in four sets then.
After the next convincing performance, Zverev had previously prevailed 6: 4, 3: 6, 6: 3, 6: 4 against Argentinian Tomas Martin Etcheverry and surprisingly reached the semifinals in Roland for the third time in a row a year after his serious ankle injury reached Garros. In the second semi-final, the two top favorites Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) and Novak Djokovic (Serbia) meet.