Holger Rune completes comeback to reach Italian Open final with win over Casper Ruud - 'It's crazy'
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ByEurosport
Updated 20/05/2023 at 18:08 GMT
Casper Ruud and Holger Rune are far from friends on the men's tennis circuit after their dramatic spat at Roland-Garros, they met again in the semi-finals of the Italian Open. It was Ruud who had the best start as he won the first set, but his rival came back to win consecutive sets to set up a final against either Daniil Medvedev or Stefanos Tsitsipas on Sunday.
'It's crazy!" - Rune on beating Djokovic and Ruud on run to final in Rome
Holger Rune defeated Casper Ruud with a comeback 6-7(2) 6-4 6-2 win in the Italian Open semi-finals.
Rune made his way to this stage with a hard-fought win over Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals.
Ruud had an easier time of it with a two-set victory over Francisco Cerundolo.
The match-up was the first time the pair had met since their controversial clash at the French Open, with no love lost in the meantime.
The 20-year-old Rune was a beaten finalist at the Monte-Carlo Masters and has a clay win this year at the Bavarian Open.
Ruud meanwhile has the 2023 Estoril Open to his name and both were hoping for victory to move up the world rankings.
The first set went to a tie-break, and Ruud raced to clean up by a 7-2 margin.
Midway through the second set, Ruud claimed a potentially vital break, only for the Dane to break back and level the match, to set up a deciding third set.
Ruud ended the match taking just one of his six break points, while Rune raced away in the third set as he asserted his dominance, earning a chance to win his second title of the season so far.
Asked about the fact that he had beaten both Novak Djokovic and now Ruud to reach the final, Rune admitted his delight.
"Yeah, it's crazy," he said in his on-court interview. "I really played some of my best tennis in, you know, a period of the matches, especially the last two matches, first against Novak and then against Casper.
"They are two so difficult players to play so I had to find my best tennis. You know, I actually didn't find it today, only at the end, and that was why I turned it around."
In the day’s other semi-final, Daniil Medvedev will face Stefanos Tsitsipas to decide who will play Rune in Sunday’s final.
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