Published on : 03/06/2022 – 22:42
Paris (AFP) – The world N.8 Casper Ruud became the very first Norwegian to reach the Grand Slam final, at 23, by dominating the Croatian Marin Cilic, ex-world N.3 today 23rd, 3-6, 6- 4, 6-2, 6-2 in the Roland-Garros semi-final on Friday evening.
He will challenge Rafael Nadal, thirteen times winner on Parisian clay, on Sunday. The Spaniard, who celebrated his 36th birthday on Friday, qualified following the abandonment of world No.3 Alexander Zverev, who twisted his right ankle in the middle of the match, when he was down 7-6 (10/8), 6-6 earlier in the day.
“I admire Rafa, he is the perfect example of how you should behave on the court: never give up, and never complain. He has always been my idol,” smiled Ruud.
“It’s extraordinary. It’s the last member of the +Big 3+ that I haven’t faced yet, it was worth the wait, in the Grand Slam final, it’s the perfect timing, it will be a special moment for me,” he added.
In the third set, at 4-1 in favor of Ruud, the match was interrupted regarding fifteen minutes following the intrusion of a woman claiming to be from an organization for the defense of the climate, who attached herself to the net before being evacuated by security guards. Both players were briefly sent back to the locker room.
Before that, Ruud had already taken control of the match following giving up the first set to the winner of the US Open 2014. He was not destabilized by this incident.
Before this 2022 edition of Roland-Garros, the Scandinavian had never passed the round of 16 in a Grand Slam.
The native of Oslo, former world No.1 junior, is a regular at firsts for tennis in his country: the first Norwegian to find a place in the top 10 (in April), the first to win an ATP title, the first to reach a Masters 1000 final (Miami in early April) and first to qualify for the end-of-season Masters (2021).
Clay is his favorite surface: since 2020, he is the player who has won the most matches (65) and the most titles (7).
With his first major final, Ruud is already guaranteed to climb to the best ranking of his career next week, at sixth place in the world.
© 2022 AFP
