Norwegian Casper Ruud defeated Croatian Marin Cilic in four sets, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 and 6-2 and at the age of 23 he qualified for the Roland Garros final, in which he will face his idol Rafael Nadal (N.5).
The Spanish tennis player will fight on Sunday for his 14th Musketeers Cup after winning the first semifinal due to the abandonment of his rival, the German Alexander Zverev, who sprained his ankle at the end of the second set, when the score was favorable to Nadal 7-6 (10/8) and 6-6.
(Roland Garros: activist invades the pitch and chains himself to the net, video)
(Alexander Zverev: video of his painful injury against Nadal at Roland Garros)
It will be the first Roland Garros and Grand Slam final for Ruud, while for Nadal it will be his 14th in Paris (he has not lost any so far) and if he wins on Sunday, it would increase his record for wins in ‘big’ tournaments to 22.
“It was a great match for me. Marin started very well, serving very well and playing very fast, but from the second set I raised my level, played more aggressively and ended up having one of my best matches of the season,” Ruud said in the courtside interview.
Shortly after he admitted that “As a child I cried a lot, but later when I grew up and I paid a lot of attention to Rafa, who is my idol, because he never complains or gives up on the track”.
Ruud, who a few years ago spent a season training at Nadal’s academy in his native Mallorca, added: “It’s incredible when you think that I’m going to finally play against him and do it in a Grand Slam final. I hope that for him too playing against a student from his academy is.
‘Apt Pupil
The meeting between Ruud and Cilic had to be interrupted for a little over a quarter of an hour, the time it took for security personnel to get an activist from an environmental organization who tied herself to the net off the track.
Cilic took advantage of his greater experience in matches of this type and the nerves of
Ruud to sign up the first set 3-6 with the formula that has given him the most success in his career: great service (75 percent of the points won with his first serve), effective volley and devastating winners (15).
The Croatian also took advantage of his two ‘break’ balls and Ruud none of the three he had. But from the second set Ruud appeared, who is making a name for himself on the circuit, especially in clay tournaments, with a very solid game from the back of the court and without making too many mistakes.
A single ‘break’ in the third game was enough for the Nordic to level the match (6-4).
Ruud also improved a lot with his service, reaching 71 percent of points won with his first serve (only 68 per cent for Cilic) and 16 aces (to only 10 for the Croatian), which hardly gave Cilic a chance to get back into the match.
As if that were not enough for the US Open champion in 2014, as the match progressed, the efficiency with his serve decreased (he finished with only 68% of the points won on serve) and if the Croatian loses his best weapon has little to do, especially on clay.
Ruud found a way to pass the Croatian when he went up to the net and the points were falling on the Norwegian’s side until staying a single set from his first Grand Slam final (6-2 in the third). The lace came in the first game of the fourth set.
Ruud broke Cilic’s serve again and the Croatian, who made 56 unforced errors in the entire match (to Ruud’s 21), gave up.
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AFP
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