Paris, FRANCE – History could be made at Roland-Garros this coming weekend, with Casper Ruud's (NOR) progress into the semi-finals leaving him just two more victories from becoming the first Norwegian man to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Showing remarkable consistency on the Parisian clay, the head-to-toe Yonex ambassador has reached the last four for the second straight year. In another repeat of 2022, he advanced by winning an all-Scandinavian quarter-final against Denmark's Holger Rune in four sets. Playing at night on Court Philippe Chatrier, the World No. 4 went through 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
It was here at Roland-Garros last year that Ruud played in his first Grand Slam final before going on to reach his second major final at last season's US Open. Victory over Germany's Alexander Zverev in Friday's semi-finals would take him through to a third Grand Slam singles final, which would be a very decent return from the last five majors and would give him another shot at making history.
Wearing the elegant 2023 Paris Collection by Yonex, Ruud maintained his perfect record in Grand Slam quarter-finals, with this his third victory from three appearances at that stage of a major. Going into his match with Zverev, Ruud also has a perfect record in Grand Slam semi-finals, having won his previous two. Ruud's performance against Rune was another reminder of how the 24-year-old from Oslo has become a force on clay. He has been generating some big numbers, with this win his 86th match victory on the surface since the start of the 2020 season, which is more than another player on the ATP Tour. He also has more clay-court finals (11) and more clay-court titles (9) than anyone else over that period.
Doubles success for Team Yonex
In another highlight for Team Yonex, Taylor Townsend (USA) has reached the last four of the women's doubles competition with her partner Leylah Fernandez, defeating Latisha Chan and Hao-Ching Chan 6-3, 6-3. Townsend will meet fellow Yonex ambassador Jessica Pegula (USA) at the semi-finals on Friday. Pegula and her partner Coco Gauff (USA) had already advanced to the final four, defeating Anna Bondar and Greet Minnen 6-2,7-6(2).
Casper Ruud (NOR) | EZONE 100[LINK] / POLYTOUR SPIN[LINK] / POLYTOUR PRO 130[LINK] / ECLIPSION[LINK] / Paris Collection[LINK]
Jessica Pegula (USA) | EZONE 98[LINK]
Taylor Townsend (USA) | EZONE 98[LINK] / POLYTOUR REV 120[LINK]