Casper Ruud in Finals – French Open 2022 LIVE: World No.8 Casper Ruud has entered his maiden Grand Slam final. The DREAM RUN of Ruud continued against resurgent Marin Cilic. The Norweigan player won 6-3, 4-6, 2-6, 2-6 in the semifinals of the French Open on Friday. Ruud will now take on 13-time champion Rafael Nadal in the summit clash at Roland Garros on Sunday: Follow Nadal vs Ruud FINALS LIVE on Sunday and keep checking French Open 2022 LIVE updates with InsideSport.IN
French Open 2022 LIVE: Casper Ruud enters his maiden Grand Slam Final, ENDS Marin Cilic’s SENSATIONAL RUN in 4 sets
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
Casper Ruud in Finals – Nadal vs Ruud FINALS: The 23-year old has a big task at hand as he bids to deny the Spaniard a record-extending 14th Roland Garros title and 22nd Grand Slam singles title.
Following an ominous start to his clay-court season Ruud has timed his run to perfection. A semi-final loss to eventual champion Djokovic in Rome was his last defeat. His two-hour, 55-minute victory over Cilic was his 10th on the trot after a title in Geneva and his 66 wins on clay since the start of 2020 are the most on the men’s tour.
With the roof re-opened following the first semi-final, neither player could be separated through the opening 30 minutes in humid, heavy conditions. Both the players held on to their serves in the first six games as scores were level 3-3.
However Cilic started dominating the set as he took the first break in the very next game. After winning his next service game, he hit an inside-out forehand to snatch the double break and with it the set 6-3.
In the second set, 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.
He continued to dominate in the third set as he got a double break over Cilic early in the set to get the scores to 3-0. There was then a brief pause in play as a protestor ran into the court. After the delay, the match resumed with both the players winning their respective service games and Ruud clinched the third set too 6-2.
The younger combatant had a spring in his step as he thumped a forehand winner to break in the opening game of the fourth. He had one foot in the door of his maiden Slam final when a double break ensued and a first shot at Nadal was assured three games later on his 16th ace.
“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.”
He improves to 3-0 against Cilic in their Head-to-Head series, with one win each year since 2020. Following the victory, Ruud rises above Carlos Alcaraz to No. 6 in the ATP Live Rankings.
French Open 2022 Semifinals: Casper Ruud enters his maiden Grand Slam Final, defeats Marin Cilic in four sets in semifinals
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