Paris, FRANCE - Former men's singles finalist Casper Ruud (NOR) and Yoshihito Nishioka (JPN) have advanced to the last 16 at Roland-Garros, keeping alive the possibility that a player from Team Yonex could reach the final for a second successive year.
Both athletes have demonstrated resilience and composure at Roland-Garros, recovering from losing the opening set to win their respective third-round matches. Both men also have the full, head-to-toe backing of Yonex, playing in the 2023 Paris Collection with Yonex racquets and footwear. While Ruud is into the fourth round at Roland-Garros for a second year as he seeks his first Grand Slam title, Nishioka is on a career-best run this fortnight on the Parisian clay.
Ruud keeps rolling
Gone are the times when Casper Ruud could - as he put it - operate in "the shadows" in Paris. Maybe that was the case for some of his matches at Roland-Garros last season on the way to reaching a first Grand Slam final. As a returning finalist - and now the highest seed left in the bottom half of the draw - the Norwegian is dealing with the extra attention, expectation, and pressure that comes with his elevation in status.
Winning in four sets against China's Zhang Zhizhen in the third round, Ruud brings something new to the clay this spring that he didn't have last season - the knowledge and experience required to go very deep into the draw. Dressed from head to toe in Yonex, the Norwegian has mostly looked at ease on the clay during his first three matches. While he dropped the opening set in the third round, and there were some frustrations, there was never a sense of panic. He would concede just nine more games for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 victory, setting up a last-16 meeting with Chile’s Nicolas Jarry.
Nishioka's career-best run in Paris
Playing some of the finest clay-court tennis of his career, Yoshihito Nishioka has reached the fourth round at Roland-Garros for the first time. The No. 27 seed came from two sets to one down against Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild, for a 3-6, 7-6(8), 2-6, 6-4, 6-0 victory that solidified his position as a force at the Grand Slams.
In previous seasons, Nishioka had never reached the second week of a major. However, in this season alone, he has now done it twice, with this run in Paris building on his last-16 finish at the Australian Open. Victory in his next match against Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry would take him into a first Grand Slam quarter final. With Nishioka also in the bottom half, there is a chance that he and Ruud could meet in an all-Yonex showdown in the semi-finals.
Casper Ruud (NOR) | EZONE 100[LINK] / POLYTOUR SPIN[LINK] / POLYTOUR PRO 130[LINK] / ECLIPSION[LINK] / Paris Collection[LINK]
Yoshihito Nishioka (JPN) | VCORE 98[LINK] / FUSIONREV[LINK] / Paris Collection[LINK]
