Casper Ruud extended his 2021 clay-court record to 17-4 on Wednesday by reaching the Roland Garros third round for the third straight season. The Norwegian, who is a contender for a deep run in the bottom half of the draw, faced little resistance in beating Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in one hour and 53 minutes.
Ruud was rock-solid on serve, winning 47 of 58 points with his first delivery, and the No. 15 seed also struck 39 winners. Projected to meet sixth-seeded German Alexander Zverev, who was a 7-6(4), 6-3, 7-6(1) victor on Wednesday, in the quarter-finals, Ruud's next challenge will be against Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
The 22-year-old Ruud has compiled a 22-6 record on the season — with a 17-4 mark on clay — including his second ATP Tour title at the Gonet Geneva Open (d. Shapovalov). He also reached three semi-final runs at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters (l. to Rublev), the BMW Open in Munich (l. to Basilashvili) and the Mutua Madrid Open (l. to Berrettini).
When asked about his dark horse status, Ruud admitted, "It's nice to get some recognition that you had a good clay-court swing. I've won many matches. I've built a kind of clay-court reputation for myself. I've been performing well many tournaments in a row this year. I think this is by far my best clay court season so far."
Ruud, competing at Roland Garros for the fourth time, broke clear when Majchrzak struck a forehand long in the fourth game. The Pole saved four break points at 1-4, but Ruud wrapped up the 36-minute opener with his 14th winner (a forehand).
A looping forehand return landed on the baseline to give Ruud a 3-2 advantage in the second set, and a second break came when Majchrzak struck a backhand wide with Ruud on the run in the seventh game. Ruud won 94 per cent of his first serves in the second set, which lasted 36 minutes, and won 12 of the first 16 points in the third set.
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To his credit, Majchrzak recovered by coming back from an 0-3 deficit to 4-4, before Ruud raised his game to force errors. Ruud fought back from 15/40 when serving for the match.
Ruud, who is currently at a career-high No. 16 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, made a career-best Grand Slam run to the Australian Open fourth round (l. to Rublev) in February. Majchrzak, 25, had been attempting to become the first Polish man to reach the Roland Garros third round since Jerzy Janowicz in 2014.
Davidovich Fokina needed three hours and 42 minutes to beat Dutch qualifier Botic van de Zandschulp 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 2-6, 6-4.
Elsewhere, Fabio Fognini, the 27th seed from Italy, defeated Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics 7-6(6), 6-1, 6-2 in two hours and 16 minutes. Fognini will next play Argentina’s Federico Delbonis, who knocked out fourth seed Dominic Thiem’s conqueror, Pablo Andujar of Spain, 4-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in three hours and 23 minutes.
Ruud was rock-solid on serve, winning 47 of 58 points with his first delivery, and the No. 15 seed also struck 39 winners. Projected to meet sixth-seeded German Alexander Zverev, who was a 7-6(4), 6-3, 7-6(1) victor on Wednesday, in the quarter-finals, Ruud's next challenge will be against Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
The 22-year-old Ruud has compiled a 22-6 record on the season — with a 17-4 mark on clay — including his second ATP Tour title at the Gonet Geneva Open (d. Shapovalov). He also reached three semi-final runs at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters (l. to Rublev), the BMW Open in Munich (l. to Basilashvili) and the Mutua Madrid Open (l. to Berrettini).
When asked about his dark horse status, Ruud admitted, "It's nice to get some recognition that you had a good clay-court swing. I've won many matches. I've built a kind of clay-court reputation for myself. I've been performing well many tournaments in a row this year. I think this is by far my best clay court season so far."
Ruud, competing at Roland Garros for the fourth time, broke clear when Majchrzak struck a forehand long in the fourth game. The Pole saved four break points at 1-4, but Ruud wrapped up the 36-minute opener with his 14th winner (a forehand).
A looping forehand return landed on the baseline to give Ruud a 3-2 advantage in the second set, and a second break came when Majchrzak struck a backhand wide with Ruud on the run in the seventh game. Ruud won 94 per cent of his first serves in the second set, which lasted 36 minutes, and won 12 of the first 16 points in the third set.
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To his credit, Majchrzak recovered by coming back from an 0-3 deficit to 4-4, before Ruud raised his game to force errors. Ruud fought back from 15/40 when serving for the match.
Ruud, who is currently at a career-high No. 16 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, made a career-best Grand Slam run to the Australian Open fourth round (l. to Rublev) in February. Majchrzak, 25, had been attempting to become the first Polish man to reach the Roland Garros third round since Jerzy Janowicz in 2014.
Davidovich Fokina needed three hours and 42 minutes to beat Dutch qualifier Botic van de Zandschulp 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 2-6, 6-4.
Elsewhere, Fabio Fognini, the 27th seed from Italy, defeated Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics 7-6(6), 6-1, 6-2 in two hours and 16 minutes. Fognini will next play Argentina’s Federico Delbonis, who knocked out fourth seed Dominic Thiem’s conqueror, Pablo Andujar of Spain, 4-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in three hours and 23 minutes.