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OUT: Casper Ruud during the Roland-Garros tennis match against Dominik Thiem on Friday. Photo: NTB
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Ruud is approaching 1.4 million crowns after winning two matches in the tournament. Thiem can still dream of a final victory on the red gravel and a cash prize of 17.5 million crowns. He won his first Grand Slam title in New York earlier this fall.
Friday’s game took place in the main field under cover. It was raining and windy in Paris all day.
Ruud challenged Thiem very hard in the first set. The Norwegian had six break balls in Thiem’s serve game, but only used one of them. In the end, Thiem decided with a tough pre-team that Ruud could not return properly. Suseren gave the big favorite the set 6-4 after just over an hour of play.
The Austrian broke Ruud’s serve directly in the second set. The opening game took Thiem after a long time of play and some drama. The Norwegian ended up in a long discussion with the head judge. Ruud thought Thiem’s ball went over the line, but he didn’t win. The Hawk-Eye technology showcased at Eurosport revealed that Ruud was right.
Thiem got several break balls after this and took the game after a mistake by Ruud. Therefore, the 21-year-old Norwegian was in default. It was 0-2 in the game after Thiem showed class tennis in his own service game.
On the rise
Ruud was able to even at 2-2, but he misused two breakballs in the fourth game. Instead, Thiem increased to a 3-1 lead with a 6-3 header in the set. It lasted 44 minutes.
In the third set, there was a new early discussion with the head referee, but even then Ruud did not come to the discussion in the first game. The trend in the game continued, and Thiem was simply too good for Ruud. The last set (1-6) was very useful for a tired Norwegian. He was repeatedly the victim of Thiem’s brutal forehand blow.
The Roland-Garros final will be played on October 11. Gravel King Rafael Nadal is the favorite. He has won twelve times since 2005.
Ruud is ranked 25th in the ATPS world rankings. It has come a long way in the last year.
These are the other key dates in Ruud’s ranking:
- January 13 of this year: It ranks in the top 50 with a 46th spot.
- March 4, 2019 – First time in the top 100 when ranked 94th.
- February 27, 2017 – Play among the top 200 in the world at 133rd.
- February 22, 2016: Fit in the top 1000 as number 797.
(© NTB)
