Casper Ruud continues to send good feelings at this Roland Garros. The Godó champion qualified for the quarterfinals for the third year in a row after defeating Taylor Fritz, 7-6(8), 3-6, 6-4 and 6-2 in a very solid match that knew he how to counter the power of the American service.
The Norwegian, double finalist in the French capital, will be looking for a spot in the semifinals against Novak Djokovicwho played a painful game against Francisco Cerúndolo after almost leaving due to knee problems.
Undoubtedly, a tall challenge that he seems to have prepared despite the adversity. “Yeah, well, you could really say he’s the second best clay court player of all time. I mean, obviously Borg has more titles here than he does, but Novak was always close, he always reached the final and ended up losing to Rafa“said Ruud in a press conference.
“I didn’t see much of what happened today, but I heard that he was down two sets to one and he broke in the fourth and came back.. Therefore, he accepts the challenge when he needs it (smiling). I mean, he has all the possibilities. I mean, maybe he’s not as heavy as Rafa and extreme topspin, but it’s not necessary. “It has other properties that are almost as good,” he explained.
“I think he reads the game incredibly well. He knows how to use the drop shot well. He obviously moves great. So he’s hard to hit. You know, physically he’s there. He’s strong. He never breakdowns. Sometimes you feel like you’re going to he does, but he doesn’t. I think he showed that in the last two games he played more than four hours and seemed rushed, but came back” he added.
Ruud goes into the event with world number 1 on the back of a great year where with 38 victories he leads the triumphs classification and where he played 5 finals, including in Godó and Geneva, where he won the title.
In addition, he is the player with the most wins on clay, 20 unlike the Serbian, who have yet to lift any trophy so far this season.
After overcoming Alejando Davidovich with problems in the second round and Argentine Tomás Martín Etcheverry in the third, The Norwegian again had to apply himself thoroughly against Fritz, who was not a specialist on this surfaceas evidenced by the fact that Roland Garros is the only major where they have not yet played the quarterfinals.
Source: La Verdad
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