Casper Ruud grateful for the deep court at Phillipe Chatrier

French Open
Casper Ruud forehands the ball at the French Open in 2023.

Casper Ruud credited the generous space surrounding the Court Phillipe Chatrier at Roland Garros with aiding his cause against Nicolas Jarry.

Ruud defeated Jarry 7-6(3), 7-5, 7-5 but had a hard time breaking down the vicious delivery from the lanky Chilean.

The fourth seed conceded that he needed the extra depth on the court to get on top of the bombs being sent his way.

“It’s difficult. His serve is great, he plays very aggressive,” Ruud replied when asked about his deep returning position used to counter Jarry’s delivery.

“I’m happy that I had enough court to work with today. This court is probably the biggest court on clay that we have, so for me who likes to return from the back, it’s good.

“It’s tough. It’s been windy this year. I think I managed to do well. I was down a break in both the second and the third [sets]… I was very happy I was able to neutralise his serve and win the most important points of the match.”

Ruud felt the need to credit his training team with keeping him in peak fitness as he felt good throughout a tough encounter.

“It was great for me. Three very, very tough sets,” said Ruud. “I think today I can thank my team for pushing me every day in practice because not every day is as tough as [this one]. But I do the work and I felt physically fine.

“I was ready for more if we had to play more, so it was a win not just for me but my team as well. We have done great work the last couple of years, and I’m happy to be back in the quarter-finals.”

Ruud, who advanced to the Roland Garros final last year, has now amassed a Tour-leading 85 victories on clay since 2020. In the quarters, the 24-year-old will face Holger Rune as he continues his quest for his first Grand Slam title victory.

Just 11 days earlier, Jarry overcame Ruud in a three-set quarterfinal in Geneva, and for the most of Monday’s match, there wasn’t much to separate the two men.

Jarry remained competitive the entire time because to his thunderous serve and strong groundstrokes, but Ruud’s elite defensive abilities usually won out in lengthier exchanges.

Ruud saved a break point at 1-4, 30/40 to hold when he was one point fromgiving up a double-break disadvantage. That was typical of the World No 4’s performance, in which he effectively boosted his level to hold Jarry off.

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