Cricket
Casper Ruud survives scare against Fokina to keep his French Open hopes alive
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Two-time French Open finalist and 7th seed, Casper Ruud survived a scare in the second round of the French Open. Ruud, kept his title hopes alive on Thursday, 30 May by narrowly beating Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6(5), 1-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in a testing second-round clash. Ruud’s scare comes right after his confident first round victory against Brazil’s Felipe Alves.
After his last two trips to Roland Garros ended in losses to Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic in the final, the 25-year-old Norwegian looked well primed to break his Grand Slam duck at the claycourt major by winning titles on the surface in Barcelona and Geneva.
French Open 2024: Day 6 Order of Play
But that winning form seemed to go missing slightly against a tricky opponent in the 24-year-old Davidovich Fokina, who stayed within touching distance in a high-octane contest, before Ruud stepped up his game to go through.
After winning a tight opening set via a tie-breaker, Ruud wobbled in the second before getting back on track in the next. After his 6-3 win in the third set it looked like he would seal the deal in the fourth, Ruud was given a rude awakening as Fokina dragged the match into the 5th set.
Davidovich Fokina was relentless with his efforts and levelled up the contest. However, Ruud sealed a crucial break to surge ahead 3-2 in the decider and held his nerve from there to win.
CASPER RUUD’S PERFORMANCE IN ROUND 1
Casper Ruud had smoothly advanced to the second round of the French Open after defeating Brazilian qualifier Felipe Alves 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 in the men’s singles opening round. Ruud had dominated the match against Alves from the start. His powerful groundstrokes and strategic play kept the Brazilian at bay, securing a straight-sets victory and further cementing his reputation as a formidable contender in this year’s tournament.
“This is one of the biggest tournaments for me and for everyone every year. One of my highlights,” Ruud had said after his Round 1 win.
“I’m always looking forward to it. The last two years have given me so much here in Paris. I hope I can make it another good year.” “I think it’s been a good clay season for me. Madrid and Rome could’ve gone a bit better. It wasn’t what I hoped for. But other results went well. All in all I’m happy,” he had further added.
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