FRENCH OPEN
Norwegian Ruud sets up French Open final against Nadal
Eighth seed Casper Ruud rallied from a set down to beat an error-prone Marin Cilic 3-6 6-4 6-2 6-2 on Friday to become the first Norwegian man to reach a Grand Slam singles final and set up a French Open title clash against 13-time champion Rafa Nadal.
With his victory against the Croat on Court Philippe Chatrier, Ruud will at least rise to a career-high world ranking of sixth when the list is updated at the conclusion of the claycourt Grand Slam at Roland Garros.
“It was a great match from my side. I did not start great but from that break (second set) I played some of my best tennis this year,” Ruud said in his on-court interview.
“Marin is usually the one who is playing very fast and playing the balls very hard. I figured I need to step up a bit and counter attack and go for some faster shots. That helped.”
Ruud came into the contest with a 2-0 head-to-head lead over former world number three Cilic and a prolific record on claycourts. Before Friday’s match the Norwegian, since 2020, had won a tour-leading 65 matches and seven titles on the surface.
But it was the Croat, 10 years older than his 23-year-old opponent, who drew first blood, breaking Ruud twice in the opening set to nose ahead.
The big-hitting Cilic, seeded 20th, peppered the court with winners from his powerful forehand and saved all three breakpoints he faced on his own delivery.
But Ruud soon showed why he is so highly regarded on clay by absorbing Cilic’s power with his stout defence in the third game of the second set, forcing his opponent into making an array of unforced errors to go a break up.
With Ruud serving for the set, Cilic had multiple chances to level the contest but the Norwegian fought back from 0-40 down to clinch the stanza with a scorching backhand down the line.
Cilic’s frustration grew as the lanky Croat completely lost control over his groundstrokes and his unforced errors soared as Ruud jumped to a 4-0 lead in the third set.
The match was interrupted for over 15 minutes during the third set with Ruud serving at 4-1 when a protestor jumped onto the court and attached herself to the net.
Ruud lost the next two points on resumption but recovered to save two break points to hold serve for a 5-1 lead before serving out for the set on his next opportunity.
Another double break early in the fourth was enough for Ruud and he sealed the contest under three hours with his 16th ace of the match. Cilic’s sorry evening ended with 56 unforced errors — compared to just 21 from his opponent.
Ruud broke Cilic’s service five times in total and on Sunday he will face Nadal, whowill be aiming for a record-extending 22nd major title. Nadal progressed after his opponent Alexander Zverev retired with an ankle injury mid-match.
“He is the last player of the Big Three … that I have never played against,” Ruud said. “I guess it is perfect timing and was worth the wait to finally play him in a Grand Slam final.
“It will be special moment for me, hopefully a little bit for him as well. He has played so many finals but at least he’s playing a student from his academy this time. Should be fun.”
-Reuters
The first round of the French Open starts on Sunday, with Novak Djokovic beginning his hunt for a fourth crown and a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title when he takes on home hope Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, while world number three Alexander Zverev faces Benjamin Bonzi.
The claycourt Grand Slam starts under a shadow, with some players deciding to restrict their appearances at Friday’s and Saturday’s traditional pre-tournament media days amid growing tensions over prize money and player influence.
TOP MEN’S MATCH: DJOKOVIC V MPETSHI PERRICARD
Djokovic has played just one match since Indian Wells in March, and the 39-year-old will need to quickly shake off any rust when he meets Mpetshi Perricard for the first time in his career in his opening match.
The Serbian has spent the last two years trying to capture a 25th major crown that would move him past Margaret Court to take sole possession of the record, but that quest looks in danger of being prolonged.
“I wanted to play more , but my body was not allowing me. I was going through the rehabilitation process for my injury,” Djokovic told reporters.
“If I’m able to somehow maintain a level of freshness and progress… then I feel like I have always had a very good chance. I have proven that in Australia this year, where I was close to winning another Slam. I always have that belief in me when I’m on the court.”
TOP WOMEN’S MATCH: ANDREEVA V FERRO
Russian Mirra Andreeva has had a strong clay season, winning the Linz Open and reaching her first WTA 1000 final at the Madrid Open, while also making it to the semi-finals in Stuttgart and quarter-finals in Rome.
The 19-year-old begins against world number 200 Fiona Ferro of France, and should face little trouble if she can prevent the home fans from affecting her as they did in her quarter-final defeat to Lois Boisson at last year’s tournament.
“Obviously, the crowd is going to support her (Ferro) as much as they can, and that’s totally okay,” Andreeva said.
“I have some experience even from last year when I played quarters, so I pretty much know what to expect… We will see how it’s going to go, but I hope they’re not going to be too hard on me.”
CAN ZVEREV JOIN GRAND SLAM CLUB?
Zverev has been on the verge of a maiden Grand Slam title at many points over his career, reaching three finals and falling just short, and if the German is to finally accomplish the feat, the French Open looks to be his best bet.
The 29-year-old reached the final in Paris in 2024 and has made it to at least the quarter-final stage in seven of the past eight editions, putting him among the favourites this year, especially in the absence of injured world number two Carlos Alcaraz.
Zverev begins his campaign against Bonzi, who could prove a tricky customer; however, with the Frenchman being one of only three players to have taken a set off world number one Jannik Sinner during the Italian’s incredible 29-match winning streak.
FRENCH OPEN ORDER OF PLAY ON SUNDAY (prefix number denotes seeding):
COURT PHILIPPE CHATRIER (play begins at 1000 GMT)
- Sinja Kraus (Austria) v 11-Belinda Bencic (Switzerland)
- Benjamin Bonzi (France) v 2-Alexander Zverev (Germany)
- 8-Mirra Andreeva (Russia) v Fiona Ferro (France)
- Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (France) v 3-Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
- COURT SUZANNE LENGLEN (play begins at 0900 GMT)
- 13-Karen Khachanov (Russia) v Arthur Gea (France)
- 26-Hailey Baptiste (United States) v Barbora Krejcikova (Czech Republic)
- 7-Taylor Fritz (U.S.) v Nishesh Basavareddy (U.S.)
- Ksenia Efremova (France) v 18-Sorana Cirstea (Romania)
- COURT SIMONNE MATHIEU (play begins at 0900 GMT)
- 15-Marta Kostyuk (Ukraine) v Oksana Selekhmeteva (Russia)
- Katie Volynets (U.S.) v Clara Burel (France)
- Titouan Droguet (France) v 26-Jakub Mensik (Czech Republic)
- 28-Joao Fonseca (Brazil) v Luka Pavlovic (France)
-Reuters
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Venus Williams will compete in doubles at the French Open later this month, organisers confirmed on Wednesday.
Williams, 45, will partner with Hailey Baptiste, 24, for the clay-court tournament at Roland Garros, which begins on May 24 in Paris.
Williams, however, will not compete in the singles tournament.
She was a wild-card entry at the Australian Open, where she lost in three sets during the first round to Serbia’s Olga Danilovic.
Williams is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles. She has won seven Grand Slam titles in singles and 14 in doubles, including the French Open in doubles in 1999 and 2010.
-Reuters
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Newly-crowned French Open champion Coco Gauff, the first Black American to win the title in a decade, said on Saturday her victory in Paris was for people back home who looked like her and struggled amid ongoing political turmoil.
Gauff battled from a set down to beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-7(5) 6-2 6-4 and lift her first French Open crown and her second Grand Slam title after the 2023 U.S. Open.
She is the first Black American to win the French Open since Serena Williams in 2015.
“It means a lot (to win the title), and obviously there’s a lot going on in our country right now with things — like, everything, yeah. I’m sure you guys know,” she said, smiling but without elaborating further.
“But just to be able to be a representation of that and a representation of, I guess, people that look like me in America who maybe don’t feel as supported during this time period, and so just being that reflection of hope and light for those people.”
There has been ongoing political turmoil in the United States following the election of President Donald Trump last year.
Trump’s first few months in office have featured an unapologetic assault on diversity and inclusion efforts, unravelling decades-old policies to remedy historical injustices for marginalised groups in a matter of weeks.
In his second term, Trump revoked a landmark 1965 executive order mandating equal employment opportunities for all, slashed environmental actions to protect communities of colour and ordered the gutting of an agency that helped fund minority and women-owned businesses.
The actions have alarmed advocates, who say they effectively erase decades of hard-fought progress on levelling the playing field for marginalised communities.
“I remember after the election and everything, it kind of felt a down period a little bit and my mom told me during Riyadh (in November 2024) ‘just try to win the tournament, just to give something for people to smile for’.
“So that’s what I was thinking about today when holding that (trophy).
“Then seeing the flags in the crowd means a lot. You know, some people may feel some type of way about being patriotic and things like that, but I’m definitely patriotic and proud to be American, and I’m proud to represent the Americans that look like me and people who kind of support the things that I support.”
Trump has previously denied claims he has employed racist attacks and an agenda throughout his political career.
-Reuters
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