Casper Ruud competes during the men's singles fourth round match between Casper Ruud of Norway and Nicolas Jarry of Chile at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, on June 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)
PARIS, June 5 (Xinhua) -- World No. 4 Casper Ruud demonstrated his grit in a 7-6(3), 7-5, 7-5 victory against Nicolas Jarry in Monday's French Open fourth-round, earning himself a place in the quarterfinals.
Next, the Norwegian will face Holger Rune, who battled through a nail-biting five-set match and 73 unforced errors to triumph 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(7) over Francisco Cerundolo on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
Ruud, the 2022 Roland Garros runner-up, endured a tough challenge from the unseeded Chilean that lasted three hours and 22 minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier. This win was a much-needed comeback from his quarterfinal defeat to the 35th-ranked player merely 11 days ago in Geneva.
The 24-year-old made impressive comebacks from 4-1 and 4-2 deficits in the second and third sets, respectively, after winning a tense first-set tie-break.
"It was great for me. Three very, very tough sets," Ruud admitted. "I think today I can thank my team for pushing me every day in practice because not every day is as tough as (this one). But I do the work and I felt physically fine.
"I was ready for more if we had to play more, so it was a win not just for me but my team as well. We have done great work the last couple of years, and I'm happy to be back in the quarterfinals."
Rune, the sixth seed, showed resilience in a high-stakes match against Cerundolo, managing to hold his service after trailing 40-0 twice.
In the second set, Rune overcame a 0-40 deficit and saved five break points in the game to hold, even though he ultimately lost the set. However, in the fifth set, Rune faced the same 0-40 pressure. At 3-4, losing his serve would have given his 23rd-seeded opponent the opportunity to serve for the match. But Rune fought his way out of the predicament.
In the Australian Open this past January, Rune squandered two match points, resulting in a fourth-round tie-break defeat against Andrey Rublev.
"I had a heartbreaking loss in Australia, where I had this situation, " Rune reflected in his on-court interview. "I served for the match and lost and ended up in a match tie-break like this, so actually I told myself when we started the match tie-break (today) just to relax and play tennis and enjoy (it)."
During the night session, Alexander Zverev outperformed Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4, 6-3, advancing to the next round.
Women's defending champion Iga Swiatek of Poland, in pursuit of her third Roland Garros title, advanced when Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko had to retire due to illness while trailing Swiatek 5-1 in the first set.
Swiatek's next opponent in the quarterfinals will be Coco Gauff, whom she defeated in last year's final. The sixth-seeded Gauff bested Slovakia's Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, 7-5, 6-2.
"Honestly, since last year I have been wanting to play her, especially at this tournament," Gauff said about Swiatek.
In another match, Tunisia's Ons Jabeur progressed to the quarterfinals stage at the clay-court major for the first time, defeating Bernarda Pera 6-3, 6-1.
The seventh seed is set to face Brazilian 14th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia in the round of eight, following Maia's victory over Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo. ■
Holger Rune celebrates after winning the men's singles fourth round match between Holger Rune of Denmark and Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, on June 5, 2023. (Photo by Julien Mattia/Xinhua)
Nicolas Jarry reacts during the men's singles fourth round match between Casper Ruud of Norway and Nicolas Jarry of Chile at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, on June 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)
Casper Ruud celebrates after winning the men's singles fourth round match between Casper Ruud of Norway and Nicolas Jarry of Chile at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, on June 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)
Francisco Cerundolo competes during the men's singles fourth round match between Holger Rune of Denmark and Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, on June 5, 2023. (Photo by Julien Mattia/Xinhua)
Holger Rune competes during the men's singles fourth round match between Holger Rune of Denmark and Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, on June 5, 2023. (Photo by Julien Mattia/Xinhua)
Alexander Zverev of Germany competes during the men's singles fourth round match between Alexander Zverev of Germany and Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, on June 5, 2023. (Photo by Julien Mattia/Xinhua)
Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria competes during the men's singles fourth round match between Alexander Zverev of Germany and Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, on June 5, 2023. (Photo by Julien Mattia/Xinhua)
Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria serves during the men's singles fourth round match between Alexander Zverev of Germany and Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, on June 5, 2023. (Photo by Julien Mattia/Xinhua)
Alexander Zverev of Germany competes during the men's singles fourth round match between Alexander Zverev of Germany and Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, on June 5, 2023. (Photo by Julien Mattia/Xinhua)
Alexander Zverev of Germany competes during the men's singles fourth round match between Alexander Zverev of Germany and Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, on June 5, 2023. (Photo by Julien Mattia/Xinhua)
Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria competes during the men's singles fourth round match between Alexander Zverev of Germany and Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, on June 5, 2023. (Photo by Julien Mattia/Xinhua)
