Ruud Digs Deep, Ousts Jarry To Reach Roland Garros QFs

Casper Ruud knows how to hang tough at Roland Garros.

Repeatedly placed under pressure by Nicolas Jarry in the pair’s fourth-round clash Monday in Paris, the fourth seed battled to a 7-6(3), 7-5, 7-5 victory. Ruud saved 14 of 17 break points across three tightly contested sets to reach his third major quarter-final.

The Norwegian prevailed in a first-set tie-break, rallied from 1-4 to claim the second set and then 2-4 to clinch the third and seal a three-hour, 20-minute triumph. His rock-solid baseline display in blustery conditions proved decisive against the aggressive Jarry, who hit 56 winners to Ruud’s 30 in an engrossing clash. Yet the Chilean was unable to match his opponent’s consistency at key moments.

Ruud, who reached the championship match at Roland Garros last year, has now won a Tour-leading 85 matches on clay since 2020. The 24-year-old will take on Holger Rune or Francisco Cerundolo in the last eight as he continues his bid for a maiden Grand Slam crown.

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Jarry narrowly defeated Ruud in a three-set quarter-final in Geneva just 11 days ago, and there was once again little to choose between the two players for most of Monday’s encounter. Jarry’s booming serve and powerful groundstrokes ensured he was competitive throughout but Ruud’s high-class defensive skills frequently made the difference in longer exchanges.

Ruud was a point away from falling to a double-break deficit in the second set, but he saved break point at 1-4, 30/40 to hold. That was typical of the World No. 4’s display, as he raised his level to great effect to keep Jarry in his sights.

After completing his second-set comeback, Ruud repeated the feat in the third to frustrate Jarry. He won five of the final six games to clinch victory and improve his ATP Head2Head series record against the Chilean to 2-1.

More to follow…