Casper Ruud is in the semifinals of the French Open. In the first Scandinavian Grand Slam quarterfinals in history, the Norwegian tennis ace defeated the Dane Holger Rune in four sets. Afterwards, verbal poison arrows flew between the two opponents.
After the obligatory handshake, Casper Ruud shook his head. During the game it was quite hot in Roland Garros.
That’s how Rune sent his mother out of the box during the third set. “It’s terribly embarrassing behavior,” commented former tennis pro Fredrik Rosengren on the action when he was an expert at Discovery+.
Former French Open finalist Alex Corretja also criticized Rune: “He still has to learn to keep his emotions under control. You don’t send your mother out of the box. That’s unacceptable.”
After Ruud’s quarter-final success (6:1, 4:6, 7:6, 6:3), the two Scandinavians then clashed personally.
Rune accuses Ruud
“In the dressing room, he and his team had to pass me. The team is actually very nice, but then he just comes right up to me and yells ‘YESAAA’ in my face,” Rune claimed in an interview with “Extra Bladet“.
The 19-year-old reacted with incomprehension. “I just thought: What the hell are you doing? You can’t do that. You can cheer as much as you want on the pitch and be happy. I do that myself when I win. But that’s such bad style,” Rune explained and demanded: “Have a little respect.”
Rune also denied being accused of sending his mother away. “I didn’t tell my mother to leave the stadium. I didn’t yell at her. It was a completely different person, so it’s wrong,” said the tennis youngster on “Discovery+”. Nevertheless, his mother Aneke was no longer to be seen in the box.
“Time for him to grow up”
Ruud also spoke up after the clash. “I don’t know Holger Rune personally, but I saw on TV that sometimes there can be a lot of drama,” said the 23-year-old from “Aftonbladetquoted.
When asked about the ice-cold handshake immediately after the match, Ruud explained: “He barely looked at me and then he looked away and said nothing. I think tennis is a gentleman’s sport and you should be thankful for the match when a Match is over. Nothing came from him so there was no point in giving back.”
It was “time for him to grow up,” added the Norwegian.