Ruud bends but doesn't break at Roland-Garros.
The outgoing double-finalist gave himself a real scare on Thursday evening. Tossed around by a superb Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (63 winners, 58 unforced errors), the Norwegian didn't come close to the exit. After a monumental battle, Casper Ruud finally booked his place in the third round (7-6, 1-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in 4h08).
Ruud certainly doesn't like playing the Spaniard at Roland-Garros. Having lost an unassailable match in 2021 (7-6, 2-6, 7-6, 0-6, 7-5), he's not far from experiencing the same unpleasantness this year. But the Ruud of 2024 has absolutely nothing to envy of the Ruud of 2021. Testifying to all his progress, particularly on the mental front, he never cracked. Although he suffered several setbacks and at times seemed completely out of his depth, the winner of the last tournament in Barcelona showed admirable resilience.
Without playing his best tennis (47 winners, 52 unforced errors), he reaches the third round, where he will face the winner of the match between Arthur Rinderknech and Toma Martin Etcheverry. A match that will probably be a little quieter.
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