PARIS – Sixth seed Holger Rune admitted that his poor start in his French Open quarter-final loss to Casper Ruud on Wednesday proved costly, with the Dane littering the court with unforced errors for more than an hour.

The 20-year-old had hoped to make it to his first Grand Slam semi-finals but instead ended up playing catch-up as his Norwegian opponent cruised through the first two sets in just 68 minutes.

In a repeat of their 2022 quarter-final in Paris, it was the fourth seed who emerged victorious once more with a 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory to set up a last-four clash against Germany’s Alexander Zverev.

“I wasn’t there the first two sets but you cannot allow yourself to do that when you play a player like Casper, and any player at the top of the game, because it’s too long of a way back,” Rune said.

“I think I started very, very bad, unfortunately. I didn’t find my level at all the first two sets.

“It’s tough... I missed so many shots. In the third and fourth sets, I started to play better and I thought he still played good.”

Rune made 30 unforced errors in those two sets and hardly put any pressure on his opponent.

“I didn’t feel good. I didn’t play well. But that’s life sometimes. I tried everything I could to get some rhythm, but you cannot always find your best level,” added the Dane.

He upped his game in the third set, putting more power into his shots and stretching Ruud who briefly struggled for answers.

But the 24-year-old Ruud bounced back in the fourth and, despite Rune fending off two match points, the latter was beaten on the third.

“We have another Grand Slam (Wimbledon) around the corner, so I hope to be stronger there,” Rune said.

“I’m happy that the clay season is over now. I’m ready to move on. Just focused on the grass now.”

Zverev, meanwhile, rolled into the semi-finals a year after leaving Roland Garros in a wheelchair and said his injury issues in the last 12 months made his achievement a little sweeter.

He was in excruciating pain after suffering a serious ankle injury during his last-four match against Rafael Nadal last campaign and had surgery to repair his ligaments.

The German’s return was further delayed in September due to a bone edema issue and he began playing pain-free only earlier this season.

He showed glimpses of his peak form on Wednesday as he beat unseeded Argentinian Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the quarter-finals.

“I don’t think about it (the injury). I’m going on court to win tennis matches. I’m not thinking about what happened last year,” Zverev said.

“I’m here to go deep in a Grand Slam. I’m extremely happy with how things are going but the tournament is not over yet.

“There are still potentially two very difficult matches ahead and I’m looking forward to that.”
REUTERS