At 2-2 in the second set, Rune sprayed consecutive forehands to concede the first break of the contest. Ruud connected for 23 winners in opening the one-set lead and for a period, maintained that level to continue applying pressure. A trio of misfires from Rune aided in his opponent closing out the eventual tie-break with little resistance. Both players hit the ball extremely well and put on a clinic in sliding and changing tempos-as Jim Courier put it, “a bevy of brilliance.” It was Ruud, though, who won the forehand matchup and brought cleaner execution to avoid facing a single break point. While he carried over the confidence of that quarterfinal effort, Ruud channeled the belief that led to his pair of Grand Slam finals the season prior to create a stirring opening set of tennis. Rune came into the latest chapter of his rivalry with Ruud on the back of posting his second straight win over Novak Djokovic. The 20-year-old awaits the winner of Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas in Sunday’s final. I just had to try to play how I want to play, just aggressive, enjoy it. “I told myself to play free, enjoy it, it’s probably my last set here. He’s probably gonna win the match,” Rune told the World Feed afterwards. “I told myself, at this moment, I had nothing to lose. 7 seed pulled away, 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-2, to reach his third clay-court final this spring and second on the ATP Masters 1000 stage. When all was said and done, Rune secured his first win in five meetings with the two-time major finalist. And there was the pepper Ruud brought to a chat with the chair umpire after the second set finished when he was told to stop receiving coaching. The peppery side of Rune emerged in a second-set rally that saw him go on a five-game run that carried over into their decider. Ruud came out peppering forehands with his best set of tennis in 2022. The pepper was certainly back in the pair’s latest meeting Saturday. The same could be said for the 2023 trajectories of the two competitors, with Rune being favored across the board by pundits who weren’t fazed by the fact he had won a single set in 10 played with the Norwegian on clay. Much was made about the last time Casper Ruud and Holger Rune took the court together during a spicy 2022 Roland Garros quarterfinal, and the drama that spilled out in the locker room afterwards.
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