QF Preview: Ruud, Rune Set For Roland Garros Rematch; Zverev vs. Etcheverry

  • Posted: Jun 06, 2023

QF Preview: Ruud, Rune Set For Roland Garros Rematch; Zverev vs. Etcheverry

Jun062023

Scandinavians Ruud, Rune meet in Paris QFs for second straight year

The Roland Garros quarter-finals wrap up on Wednesday, with two more players set to join Novak Djokovic/Karen Khachanov and Carlos Alcaraz/Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semis. 

In a battle of Top 10 seeds, Casper Ruud and Holger Rune will contest a rematch of their memorable quarter-final from one year ago at the clay-court Grand Slam, while Alexander Zverev faces Tomas Martin Etcheverry, who entered Paris with just one major victory.

ATPTour.com breaks down the two men’s matches on the Wednesday schedule.

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[4] Casper Ruud (NOR) vs. [6] Holger Rune (DEN)

One year ago, the two Scandinavians squared off in a four-set quarter-final won by Ruud on the terre bateau. The 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-3 victory extended the Norwegian’s perfect ATP Head2Head record to 4-0 against Rune and helped him on his way to his first Grand Slam final.

Rune was playing in just his third major last year in Paris, and he has since established himself among the ATP Tour’s elite. Returning to the French capital last November for the Rolex Paris Masters, Rune beat five Top 10 players in a row — including Djokovic in the final — to win his first ATP Masters 1000 crown and break into the Top 10 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings himself. 

He entered his second Roland Garros at World No. 6 and is up to No. 5 — one spot ahead of Ruud, who is defending runner-up points — in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. Rune also came into the major with his first win against Ruud in tow, a three-set triumph two weeks ago in the Rome semis. (All six of their matches have come on clay.)

Looking ahead to the Ruud quarter-final rematch, Rune recalled a high-quality encounter from both sides last season in the French capital.

“I think last year it was a great match also. It was really close second and third set,” the Dane said. “He played great. He played I think one of his best tournaments last year here. So it’s going to be a tough match.”

He also added: “Obviously I lost last year. And it’s going be the same scenario, we play in a quarter-final, maybe night session again, maybe not. We’ll see. Hopefully I can turn it around and make it different this year.”

Rune was coming off of a four-set upset of Stefanos Tsitsipas in the fourth round last year when the two met on the Paris clay. This time, he reached the quarters with a dramatic win against 23rd seed Francisco Cerundolo in a fifth-set tie-break. With roughly 48 hours to recover, Rune will hope to be recharge for a match that could easily go the distance against Ruud.

The 20-year-old was able to play freely last year as he rose up the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, but he now expects to be in these positions deep in majors. So too does Ruud, who admitted to feeling the pressure of backing up his stellar 2022 season that saw him rise as high as World No. 2.

“I can be just a little defensive with all my shots really, because I don’t want to make mistakes. I don’t want to hand my opponent victory when I know the importance of every point, every match,” he shared. “But sometimes you just have to sort of go for it and be a little bit more aggressive than what I have been this year.”

Ruud also said that the five-set format at the majors gives him more freedom to recover from mistakes or early deficits, and he has made a conscious effort to hit through the ball more this fortnight. That’s something that Rune has never had a problem with – though fitness issues have plagued the Dane at times this season, his body occasionally showing the effects of many deep runs on the ATP Tour.

With patience and power in equal measures, Ruud succeeded in blunting the power game of Geneva champion Nicolas Jarry in a straight-sets fourth-round win. On Wednesday, he will face even more firepower against Rune.

[22] Alexander Zverev (GER) vs. Tomas Martin Etcheverry (ARG)

Zverev is competing in the Roland Garros quarter-finals for the fifth time in six years as he seeks a third straight semi-final at the event. Etcheverry entered the major with a 1-5 record at the Grand Slams.

But both players have been in tremendous form this fortnight, Zverev losing just one set in his four wins and Etcheverry yet to drop a set.

After a topsy-turvy four-set win against Frances Tiafoe in the third round, Zverev raised his level in a 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 win against 28th seed Grigor Dimitrov on Monday night — his third straight evening outing on Court Philippe-Chatrier. The German appears to be nearing the tennis he showed last year on that same court, when he gave Rafael Nadal all he could handle before a gruesome ankle injury deep into the second set.

Despite the straight-sets win against Dimitrov, Zverev was not completely happy. He returned to the practice court to hit some serves before speaking with the press, disappointed in the way he let Dimitrov back into the third set.

“I felt like at 3-0 in the third set I got very unfocused,” he said. “I kind of thought the match was over before having it over, and I was not concentrated anymore, and my serve went missing a little bit. So I just wanted to get the feeling of having that back, because it’s going to be important for after tomorrow, I think.”

Etcheverry was all smiles after beating Yoshihito Nishioka in three sets, running away with the final two after saving a set point in the opening-set tie-break. 

“For me I have a lot of emotion right now. I think I am really, really happy. The best moment of my life,” he said. “Of course, in the next round it’s going to be tough. Sascha Zverev, I think he has a lot of more experience than me, but I feel really good to play against him. I am playing incredible tennis this week, and just I have to focus on my game and try to do the same like I am doing every day.”

The Argentine, whose only previous major win came in the Australian Open first round earlier this year, knocked off 18th seed Alex de Minaur and 15th seed Borna Coric prior to his victory against Nishioka. By the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, the 22nd-seeded Zverev is the third toughest opponent he’s faced this week. By form, the German may be his toughest out yet.

In reaching the quarters, Etcheverry has soared 18 places to No. 31 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. That puts him three places ahead of Zverev, who is defending semi-final points. Wednesday’s winner will move into the Top 25 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, with Etcheverry set for a new career-high regardless of the result.

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