Ruud defeats Fritz, sets up Roland-Garros rematch with Djokovic

There will be a rematch of the 2023 Roland-Garros final — this time in the quarters — after Casper Ruud, defeated Taylor Fritz 7-6 (6), 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the last 16 on Monday night. Ruud took control starting in the third set and eventually got the best of Fritz in three hours and 31 minutes.

The Norwegian’s reward is a Tuesday date with world No 1 Novak Djokovic. They faced each other for the title in Paris last spring, when Djokovic triumphed in straight sets.

It wasn’t easy for Ruud to set up the rematch — although at the same time it wasn’t as difficult as it was for Djokovic, who overcame Francisco Cerundolo in a five-set thriller.

The first set proved to be critical, especially because Fritz would eventually falter physically due to an apparent hip problem. It looked like the American was on his way to an early advantage when he led 4-0 in the first-set tiebreaker, but Ruud recovered to steal it. Even though Fritz answered in the second, it was always Ruud who had the upper hand from a physical perspective.

After the world No 7 took the third set, Fritz really began to labor and was unable to put up much of a fight in the fourth. It ended the same way as Daniil Medvedev’s loss at Alex de Minaur earlier in the day — with a double-fault.

It’s a bit nerve-wracking coming back to try to defend a good result. It’s not easy.

Casper Ruud

With Monday’s hard-fought victory, Ruud is back in the Roland-Garros quarter-finals for a third straight year. He has advanced to the title match twice in a row.

“It was extremely difficult,” Ruud said during his on-court interview. “Taylor has particularly raised his level on clay in the last year or two. He can rip the ball, he serves well and he moves much better on clay (than he used to). The first set was so close; it could have gone either way. Luckily it went my way. It was a long one. He continued to play great in the second and the third. Fortunately for me it seemed like he was struggling a bit physically (in the fourth) and I just tried to step it up and try to get into the zone. I was able to do it in the last two sets.

“It’s a bit nerve-wracking coming back to try to defend a good result. It’s not easy. The first week is a bit stressful, but now we’re in the second week. I’m gonna play in the quarter-finals against Novak, so I have nothing to lose. I’m gonna enjoy it.

DJOKOVIC V RUUD IN QUARTER-FINALS ON WEDNESDAY

Ruud was scoreboard watching when Fritz took a medical timeout late in the match, which is when the 25-year-old saw that Djokovic had defeated Cerundolo.

“It’s gonna be another match against Novak,” Ruud noted. “It’s always tough. No matter where you play against him it’s always going to be one of the toughest challenges in our sport.

“I’m gonna try my best to get revenge.”

Ruud’s run to the quarters also included defeats of Brazilian qualifier Felipe Meligeni Alves (6-3, 6-4, 6-3), Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (7-6 (5), 1-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3) and Argentinian Tomas Martin Etcheverry, the No 28 seed (6-4, 1-6, 6-2, 6-2).

Fritz, ranked No 12, advanced to the last 16 by beating Argentinian Federico Coria (2-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-1), Serb Dusan Lajovic (6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4) and Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis (6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (4), 5-7, 6-3).

Paris (Grand Slam), other last 16 results:

• Alexander Zverev vs. Holger Rune: monday
• Novak Djokovic beat Francisco Cerundolo (23): 6-1, 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3
• Alex De Minaur (11) beat Daniil Medvedev (5): 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-3
• Jannik Sinner (2) beat Corentin Moutet: 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1
• Grigor Dimitrov (10) beat Hubert Hurkacz (8): 7-6 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (3)
• Carlos Alcaraz (3) beat Felix Auger-Aliassime (21): 6-3, 6-3, 6-1
• Stefanos Tsitsipas (9) beat Matteo Arnaldi: 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-2

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