Casper Ruud Triumphs In Thrilling French Open Match Against Davidovich Fokina

Casper Ruud survived a scare after being pushed all the way by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the French Open second round on Thursday. The Norwegian prevailed 7-6 (7-5), 1-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in a match that lasted just over four hours on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

Ruud knew he was in for a tough match after winning the tiebreak in the first set, and Davidovich Fokina fought back to take the second. The momentum swung back in Ruud's favour in the third as he regained the lead, but the Spaniard ensured they could not be separated as he forced a decider after another tight contest.

Despite putting up a good fight, Davidovich Fokina failed to see out what would have been a stunning win, as Ruud edged one step closer to a potential first Roland Garros title. Next up for Ruud is Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the third round.

Ruud lost his first-ever Roland Garros second-round match against Albert Ramos in 2018 but is unbeaten in his six matches at that stage of the French Open since. The Norwegian has now reached the third round at Roland Garros six times in his career, which is more than he has in all other three Grand Slams combined (two at the Australian Open, two at the US Open, and none at Wimbledon).

What a fight #RolandGarros @CasperRuud98 pic.twitter.com/WlyVL9PcRK

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 30, 2024