Paris, FRANCE - Calm, composed and often delivering his most crushing performances in the biggest moments, former men’s singles finalist Casper Ruud (NOR) has reached the last eight at Roland-Garros for a second season in a row.
Before his appearance in southwest Paris on Wednesday, the Yonex ambassador’s previous achievements remain fresh in the mind of many. It is the third time that Ruud has advanced into the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam and on both previous occasions - at last season's Roland-Garros and again at last season’s US Open - he went on to reach the final. Ruud's 7-6(3), 7-5, 7-5 victory over Chile's Nicolas Jarry in the fourth round has also set up a repeat of last season's quarterfinal in Paris against Denmark’s Holger Rune, a contest that the Norwegian won in four sets.
Ruud lifts his game
Ruud's ability to play well at the more important moments carried him into the quarterfinals once again as he looks for his first Grand Slam singles title.
It was Ruud who controlled the opening-set tiebreak, and he also came back from a break down in both the second and third sets. Over the course of the match-which took three hours and 20 minutes - Ruud saved 14 of the 17 breakpoints he faced on his serve. When returning, he converted 5 of the 13 breakpoints he had against Jarry's serve.
Physically, Ruud felt good on the clay of Court Philippe-Chatrier and would have been ready to play for longer had he needed to. Since 2020, Ruud has won more matches on clay than anyone else at the elite, level with this his 85th victory on the surface over that period.
Casper Ruud (NOR) | EZONE 100[LINK] / POLYTOUR SPIN[LINK] / POLYTOUR PRO 130[LINK] / ECLIPSION[LINK] / Paris Collection[LINK]