After his most recent win over Novak Djokovic, Holger Rune delivered another impressive performance on Saturday, coming from behind to knock out fellow Scandinavian Casper Ruud 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-2 in the semi-finals of the Italian Tennis Open.
As a result, Rune, a 20-year-old Dane, qualified for a third final on clay in 2023. On April 23, Rune beat Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp in the final match at the Munich tournament. The previous week, he had lost against the Russian Andrey Rublev in the final of the Masters 1000 of Monte Carlo.
“He plays fearless, hits the ball early, which is really impressive to be successful on clay,” Ruud noted of his opponent.
In the final on Sunday, Rune will cross swords with the winner of the match between the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas and the Russian Daniil Medvedev, who followed the match between Rune and Ruud on center court.
That match, however, was suspended due to rain during the first set when the score was 4-4, and again after Tsitsipas won the ninth game of that first set.
Later on Saturday, reigning Wimbledon Open champion Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan will face Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina in the women’s singles final.
The Italian Open is the last major tournament before the start of the French Open, which will begin next Sunday in Paris. However, Rune and Ruud are destined to be serious contenders for the title.
Ranked seventh at the ATP, Rune came into the game after defeating Djokovic in the quarter-finals — his second win over the Serbian to 22 Grand Slam men’s singles titles in just over six months.
Ruud, a Norwegian ranked fourth in the world, reached the French Open final last year, which he lost to Spaniard Rafael Nadal.
On Thursday, Nadal announced that he will not be competing at Roland Garros in 2023 due to a persistent hip injury that has kept him sidelined since January.
The duel between Rune and Ruud was spiced up with plenty of memorable shots, starting with Ruud picking up a drop shot and responding with a delicate and very angular winner in the second game of the clash.
When Ruud attempted the same move later, Rune was ready. Unexpectedly, he managed to retrieve the ball outside the doubles lane and forced Ruud back to the baseline. Rune wrapped up the point with a volley winner, after which the Dane waved his hands asking the crowd to show their appreciation.
After losing serve midway through the second set, Rune requested a medical break to receive treatment on his right shoulder. When the match resumed, Rune took control of it. He notably slammed a winning forehand timed at 134 km / h on a first ball from his opponent, which allowed him to break Ruud’s serve and win the second set.
Facing constant pressure from Rune, due to the Dane’s speed and ability to cover the entire playing surface, Ruud double faulted which allowed Rune to score an early break in the third set . The Norwegian failed to recover.
The match was played under cloudy skies and intermittent rain.
“There were spectacular exchanges. It was a fun game to play,” said Ruud.
“Also, I think the crowd enjoyed it. »