It is master vs. apprentice for the title at Roland Garros.

Rafael Nadal and Casper Ruud may be facing off for the first time in Sunday’s championship match in Paris, but that doesn’t mean the pair don’t know a thing or two about each other.

Eighth seed Ruud has trained at the Spaniard’s academy in Mallorca since September 2018, and that link has Nadal feeling extra positive as he bids for a 14th Roland Garros crown and record-extending 22nd Grand Slam title at 3pm local time (CEST).

“I think in the academy we were able to help him a little bit during this period of time,” said the Spaniard after booking his spot in Sunday’s final at the clay-court major. “But more than [anything], as I always say, I like to see [a] good person achieving his dreams.

“I’m happy for him. I’m happy for his mum, dad. I know them very well. They are a super-healthy family and great people. As always, I am super happy when I see these great people having success.”

For Ruud, facing his childhood idol for the first time would be an exciting challenge no matter the setting, but the Norwegian admitted it is a fitting climax to his dream run this fortnight in Paris.

“It is amazing…He is the last player of the Big 3 and the very top players in the world I have never played against,” said Ruud of Nadal after beating Marin Cilic on Friday to book his spot in a first major final. “So, I guess this is perfect timing and worth the wait. To finally play him in a Grand Slam final will be a special moment for me. Hopefully a little bit for him as well.

“He has played so many finals, but at least he is playing a student from his academy this time. So, it is going to be a fun one hopefully.”

With Nadal chasing a record-extending 14th title in Paris and Ruud seeking a maiden Grand Slam crown, ATPTour.com looks at some key components behind Sunday’s championship match.

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^{Photo Credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images}

[5] Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. [8] Casper Ruud (NOR)

Nadal has long been anointed the ‘King of Clay’, but the 36-year-old’s hunger for further Grand Slam success has burned as bright as ever this fortnight in Paris. Instead, the Spaniard’s major concern arriving in the French capital was how his body would hold up after he struggled with a chronic foot injury in defeat to Denis Shapovalov in Rome just over three weeks ago.

That has not stopped him coming through some gruelling battles on his way to a 14th final at Roland Garros. After opening with routine wins over Jordan Thompson, Corentin Moutet and Botic van de Zandschulp, Nadal edged a five-set thriller with Felix Auger-Aliassime before prevailing in a quarter-final classic against Novak Djokovic. The three hours spent on court before his opponent Alexander Zverev retired in the semi-finals brings Nadal’s time on court in his past three matches to 11 hours, 46 minutes, but the heavy workload is nothing new for the Spaniard.

“Physically I’m OK,” said Nadal in his press conference following the Zverev match. “Normally my problem is not the physical performance…Of course today the conditions have been very hot, super humid. I know from experience that when these conditions happen, I suffer a little bit more in terms of [physicality].

If Nadal can maintain his unbeaten record in championship matches at Roland Garros against Ruud, the 36-year-old will pass fellow Spaniard Andres Gimeno as the oldest Roland Garros men’s singles champion in history.

Oldest Roland Garros Men’s Singles Champions:

After clinching a record 21st major title at the Australian Open in January, Nadal can move two Grand Slam crowns clear of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer with victory on Sunday. The Serbian and Swiss are tied on 20 major trophies. A successful outcome for Nadal would also represent the first time he has completed the Australian Open-Roland Garros double in a calendar year.

Should he win, Nadal will draw level with current Tour leader Carlos Alcaraz’s four titles for 2022, having clinched trophies in Melbourne and Acapulco alongside his Australian Open triumph. A win-loss record of 111-3 at Roland Garros certainly suggests the Spaniard will be difficult to stop as he seeks to write yet more history in Paris.

In contrast to Nadal’s familiarity with stepping onto Court Philippe Chatrier for a Roland Garros final, Ruud was in uncharted territory as early as his quarter-final clash with Holger Rune. The Norwegian had not been past the fourth round of a Grand Slam until this fortnight in Paris, but there were few signs of nerves from the 23-year-old as he recovered from a set down to oust Marin Cilic in the semi-finals.

Although Ruud’s longest match of the tournament was his opening three-hour, 49-minute win over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the Norwegian has spent 18 hours and two minutes on court in Paris, just six minutes fewer than Nadal overall. After downing Tsonga in four sets, the 23-year-old beat Emil Ruusuvuori, Lorenzo Sonego, Hubert Hurkacz, Rune and Cilic to become the first Norwegian to reach a Grand Slam final.

^{Photo Credit: Adam Pretty/Getty Images}

Ruud can look to some promising numbers as he bids to become the first man to beat Nadal in a final at Roland Garros. The World No. 8 has fired 52 aces in the tournament so far compared to just 13 for Nadal, also striking more winners (259 to 204) and fewer unforced errors (138 to 166) than his opponent. The Ruud forehand in particular has developed into one of the most fearsome weapons on Tour, and the Norwegian will need it to fire if he wants to make a dent in the Nadal defence.

Regardless of the result, Ruud will rise to a career-high No. 6 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday. The Norwegian has already picked up titles in Buenos Aires and Geneva this season and also reached a maiden ATP Masters 1000 final in Miami in March.

If he can find a way to get past Nadal, it would be the crowning achievement for three seasons of clay-court success for Ruud. The Norwegian has won 66 matches on the surface since 2020, 15 more than anyone else on Tour.

Most ATP Tour Match Wins On Clay, 2020-22:

Ruud’s strong displays on clay have brought him seven tour-level titles on clay, but he is yet to lift a trophy above ATP 250 level. Yet even considering Nadal’s own unrivalled record on the surface, the Spaniard will be wary of Ruud. “For me, [it] is not a big surprise,” said Nadal when asked about the Norwegian’s run in Paris. “Casper is one of the candidates [for] winning in every clay-court event that he’s playing. [It’s] not a big surprise at all.”

Did You Know?
Nadal and Ruud’s clash will be the first Grand Slam final with a first-time meeting since the 2008 Australian Open championship match between Djokovic and Tsonga.

Stefanos Tsitsipas will make his debut at the BOSS OPEN after accepting a wild card into the ATP 250 grass-court event, which will take place in Stuttgart from 6-12 June.

It will be the first time that the Greek has competed on grass this season. Last year, the 23-year-old played just one match on the surface, losing to Frances Tiafoe in the first round at Wimbledon.

Let’s make his first time in #Stuttgart special! We are excited to announce that @steftsitsipas gets a wildcard and is going to play at the #BOSSOPEN this year. pic.twitter.com/5Y4oZinBin

— BOSS OPEN (@theweissenhof) June 3, 2022

Tsitsipas arrives in Stuttgart off the back of a fourth-round exit to #NextGenATP Dane Holger Rune at Roland Garros. He is currently 34-11 on the season, having captured his second ATP Masters 1000 crown in Monte Carlo in April.

In a strong field, Matteo Berrettini, Hubert Hurkacz and Denis Shapovalov will also be competing. Marin Cilic clinched the trophy at the ATP 250 event last season, defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final.

Casper Ruud continues to thrive in his maiden trip deep into the second week of a Grand Slam. The 23-year-old advanced to his first major quarter-final earlier this fortnight — becoming the first Norwegian man to reach that stage — and is now through to the final after a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 victory against Marin Cilic in Friday’s semi-finals.

The eighth seed will face Rafael Nadal for the first time in Sunday’s final as he bids to deny the Spaniard a record-extending 14th Roland Garros crown and 22nd Grand Slam singles title. Ruud has trained at the Spaniard’s academy in Mallorca since September 2018, adding to the intrigue ahead of the championship match.

“It is amazing… He is the last player of the Big 3 and the very top players in the world I have never played against,” Ruud said of Nadal in an on-court interview. “So I guess this is perfect timing and worth the wait. To finally play him in a Grand Slam final will be a special moment for me. Hopefully a little bit for him as well.

“He has played so many finals, but at least he is playing a student from his academy this time. So it is going to be a fun one hopefully.”

After Cilic powered through the opening set behind two late breaks, Ruud began a methodical comeback that picked up steam as the match progressed. The Croatian dominated the early rallies, winning and losing points on his own terms, before Ruud gained traction behind his high-rpm ground strokes.

After spending much of the opening set on defense, the Norwegian began to pull his opponent around by finding the corners with heavy spin. After an early break in the second, he served out the 6-4 set by winning five straight points to escape a 0/40 hole, finding several big serves and forehands during what proved to be the crucial moment of the contest.

The story of the match can be tracked by the winners-to-unforced errors counts for both men. After Ruud struck just three winners (and five errors) in the opening set, he hit 16, 12, and 10 in the final three, outpacing his error count by a healthy margin in each. Cilic produced a plus-four ratio in the opening two sets but a minus-nine mark in the last two.

“It was a great match from my side,” Ruud said. “I didn’t start the greatest, but Marin also played well in the first set. I was too defensive and then I was able to break him in the second set and that got me going again. From that break I played some of my best tennis this year. Serving well, playing aggressive, So I am super happy with my performance today.”

Maiden Slam final mood 😃@CasperRuud98 becomes the first Norwegian man in history to reach a Grand Slam #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/ShQEPIOwFh

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 3, 2022

The only thing that could stop Ruud’s momentum was a protestor who locked herself to the net with the Norwegian leading by a double break in the third set. But after a brief delay during which both players left the court, he finished the job at 10:15 p.m., closing out the win in just under three hours.

He improves to 3-0 against Cilic in their ATP Head2Head series, with one win each year since 2020. Following the victory, Ruud rises above Carlos Alcaraz to No. 6 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. He is now projected to reach a career-high in Monday’s Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

An eight-time tour-level titlist, Ruud leads the ATP Tour in clay wins (66), titles (seven) and finals (eight, including Roland Garros) since the start of 2022. But he had not yet been able to translate that success to the Grand Slams, where a 2021 Australian Open fourth-round run was his previous best result. Ruud entered this Paris fortnight with a 7-4 record at Roland Garros and three straight third-round exits. He can match his previous wins total with a victory against Nadal on Sunday.

Cilic was bidding for his fourth major final and had the opportunity to become fifth active man to reach the final of all four Slams. The World No. 23 would have been the lowest-ranked Roland Garros semi-finalist since No 25 Robin Soderling in 2009.

Rafael Nadal and Alexander Zverev did not complete two full sets in Friday’s semi-finals — with the German retiring with an ankle injury — but they still battled for more than three hours under the closed roof on Court Philippe Chatrier. That puts Nadal’s time on court at 11 hours and 46 minutes across his past three matches.

“Physically I’m OK,” Nadal, who turned 36 on Friday, said in his post-match press conference. “Normally my problem is not the physical performance.”

His comments bode well for his bid for a record-extending 14th Roland Garros title and 22nd Grand Slam singles title. Nadal is also seeking to become the oldest champion in the clay major’s history. Victory in Paris would see him claim the Australian Open and Roland Garros titles in the same season for the first time.

“Of course today the conditions have been very hot, super humid. I know from experience that when these conditions happen, I suffer a little bit more in terms of physical… Have been a lot of up-and-downs during the match, but a good level of tennis with great points. But of course when the ball is slow, conditions are very heavy with big humidity, then physically you suffer more than with dry conditions.”

Nadal opted not to keep a second ball in his pocket when serving for much of the match, repeating a strategy he used at the Australian Open to prevent the balls from picking up moisture from his shorts and becoming even heavier.

The Spaniard, who sympathised with Zverev following his unfortunate injury, also credited the German for his high-level effort and called his backhand the Tour’s best.

“He started the match playing amazing, honestly. Have been a miracle that first set,” said Nadal, who clawed back an early break and erased a 2/6 deficit in the opening tie-break. “But I was there fighting and trying to find solutions all the time.”

Nadal was frustrated by both Zverev’s game and the Chatrier conditions, explaining that he “was not able to create the damage” that he wanted in some of the slowest conditions he’s played in at Roland Garros.

“My ball was not bouncing as usual here, no?” he explained. “So with that conditions, I was not able to push him back. He was able to hit a clean ball all the time, so [I] was surviving. A lot of surviving moments during that match.”

The Chatrier roof was open for the day’s second semi-final between eighth seed Casper Ruud and 20th seed Marin Cilic. Nadal will be hoping that is the case again for Sunday, regardless of opponent. His coach, Carlos Moya, was spotted enjoying the open air as he scouted Nadal’s potential final opponents.

Nadal has climbed to No. 4 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings this fortnight and is guaranteed to extend his lead in the ATP Race To Turin.

Andy Murray extended his perfect record to six sets played and six sets won this season on grass courts, but he beat a different class of opponent Friday in his latest outing at the Surbiton Trophy.

The top seed at the ATP Challenger Tour event in his home nation, Murray defeated #NextGenATP American Brandon Nakashima, 6-4, 7-6(1), to advance to the weekend’s semi-finals. One break was enough for the former World No. 1, who fired 11 aces and saved the only two break points he faced. 

Watch Full Match Replay

In a tightly contested match, Murray edged the fifth-seeded Nakashima in win rate on both first serve (82% to 79%) and second serve (56% to 54%). It was the pair’s first professional meeting.

Murray powered past Jurij Rodionov and Gijs Brouwer in the opening two rounds, winning a pair of tie-breaks against the 26-year-old Dutchman Brouwer on Thursday. He next faces another American, seventh seed Denis Kudla, who scored a 6-4, 7-6(4) victory against Aussie Max Purcell in the quarter-finals.