Norwegian Casper Ruud, ranked fourth, defeated Danish Holger Rune (20 years old) 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 on Wednesday, marking his second consecutive year reaching the semifinals of the French Open. The pair met in the same round last year in a tense match where Ruud secured victory in four sets before losing in the final to 14-time champion Rafael Nadal.
This year's Scandinavian matchup lacked excitement but was engaging nonetheless, appearing one-sided at the beginning. Rune, ranked sixth, who defeated Ruud at the Italian Open last month, committed 26 unforced errors in the first two sets. Ruud dominated the match, breaking the young Danish player’s serve in the second game to lead 3-0. Rune's situation worsened as he made consecutive unforced errors, leading to another break of serve for Ruud, who extended his lead to 5-1 before easily taking the set.
Rune lost his serve in the first game of the second set after hitting a smash into the net. Another easy forehand error from Rune gave Ruud a 4-1 advantage, allowing him to win the set without dropping a game. However, the Danish player did not give up, breaking Ruud's serve at the start of the third set to turn the tables on his opponent. Amidst loud cheers and shouts from the crowd urging him on after each winning point, Rune secured the third set with a strong performance from the baseline.
Nevertheless, the Norwegian recovered and got revenge on his opponent by breaking serve early to lead 4-1. Rune committed another unforced error, giving Ruud his first match point with the score at 5-2. After missing one match point, Ruud finally sealed the victory and the match on his fifth opportunity.
