Will Zverev or Ruud reach Roland Garros final?

Roland Garros semi-finalists are one win away from competing for a major trophy. Will it be Casper Ruud or Alexander Zverev who earns that opportunity in Friday's second semi-final?

The 25-year-old Ruud is chasing his third consecutive championship-match appearance in the French capital, where his recent deep runs have been based on his rock-solid baseline game and willingness to dig deep.

“The goal is not necessarily to play three perfect sets every time and win [in] straight sets, but sometimes you just have to think, ‘Okay, I won't play perfect, but I'm going to be a tough player to beat in best-of-five sets on clay’,” said Ruud after defeating Taylor Fritz in four sets in the fourth round. “That's the kind of mentality that has been working for me.

"I know if the opponents want to beat me, they're going to have to play really good tennis for at least three full sets, and I'm going to try to make it tough for them. Physically I'm going to try to be in good shape and make them suffer if I can. With my technical game I'm going to try to play heavy and play the kind of clay-court tennis that I like playing. It's been working well the last two, three years here.”

Ruud will step on court having had the unusual experience of having had three days off in the middle of a Grand Slam event after Novak Djokovic was forced to withdraw from the pair's quarter-final due to a knee injury. He will hope to settle quickly in Friday’s clash, during which his ability to use his return to disrupt Zverev’s rhythm on serve could be key.

The Norwegian claimed the biggest trophy of his career at the ATP 500 in Barcelona before also triumphing at ATP 250 level in Geneva. But he is not the only one who enjoyed championship success this clay season.

The 27-year-old Zverev lifted his sixth ATP Masters 1000 title at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome last month, and the German has further solidified second place in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin by reaching the last four in Paris.

Yet to reach a final in Paris, Zverev will hope to banish past last-four heartache when he steps onto Court Philippe-Chatrier.

In 2021, Zverev fell in five sets to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the last four. In 2022, he pushed ‘King of Clay’ Rafael Nadal across the best part of two pulsating sets that lasted more than three hours, before his campaign was ended by a serious ankle injury that forced him to miss the rest of that season. A year later, Zverev again found his form on the Paris clay, but it was Ruud who ended his run in emphatic fashion with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 semi-final triumph against the German.

Zverev did not want to think too far ahead after he eased past Alex de Minaur in the quarter-finals on Wednesday. 

“Look, great. I'm in another semi-final here, which I'm very pleased about. Of course I want to win one,” said Zverev in his post-match press conference. “I want to be in the finals. That's my main focus. But I think from the level today, it was a good match for me. [I’m] happy to be where I am.”

Moving 🔛@AlexZverev advances to the semi-finals in Paris after a 6-4 7-6(5) 6-4 victory over De Minaur.@rolandgarros | #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/AQxA1gG9PW

Ruud holds the momentum in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series. The Norwegian won his previous two clashes (including the 2023 Roland Garros semi-final) against Zverev to draw level with the German at 2-2.

“[He is a] great player,” said Zverev of Ruud. “Two finals in a row, third semi-final in a row, that speaks for itself. He's one of the best players on this surface, for sure. I think I have to play my best tennis to have a chance.”

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