French Open 2023: Casper Ruud sees off plucky Giulio Zeppieri to reach third round at Roland-Garros
/dnl.eurosport.com/sd/img/placeholder/eurosport_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
ByEurosport
Updated 01/06/2023 at 13:43 GMT
Last year’s finalist Casper Ruud came through his second round match against Giulio Zeppieri in four sets after a decent battle on Roland-Garros’ biggest showcourt. The Norwegian failed to reach the final at any of the major warm-up events for Roland-Garros, although he did win an ATP 250 event on clay in Estoril in April. Ruud is one of the favourites for the title in Rafael Nadal’s absence.
'Out of nowhere' – Ruud drops his first set of tournament to Zeppieri in third set
Casper Ruud survived a mid-match lull to reach the French Open third round with a 6-3 6-2 4-6 7-5 victory over Italian youngster Giulio Zeppieri.
The Norwegian fourth seed was in cruise control after opening up a two-set advantage on Court Philippe-Chatrier, but a sloppy game when serving to stay in the third set gifted his opponent a route back into the match.
Zeppieri suddenly looked alive and full of belief as he cruised through his first two service games of the fourth set, only to falter at 2-2 as Ruud regained control with an important break.
But the 21-year-old refused to go away and cracked his opponent’s serve again as he was trying to close out the match at 5-4, before he bizarrely called for the trainer when trailing 15-40 in the next game. From that moment on, any lingering resistance seemed to desert Zeppieri as Ruud quickly broke before serving out the match at the second time of asking.
Speaking after the match, Ruud said: "It was tough. I started well, got a break early and served well myself.
"In a normal match I would have won 6-3 6-2, but in a five-set match you have a chance to fight back, and he did.
"He played much better in the third set and fourth set, so it became very tough. I’m very happy to come through, not play a fifth set and have more time to recover for my next match."
Ruud moved into a 3-0 lead in the first set, but it was not all plain sailing for him against the world No. 129. He staved off a break point in the first game and another in the third, but still managed to make a perfect start.
Zeppieri managed to take his first hold at deuce to reduce the arrears in the first of five consecutive games that went to serve. Ruud began slowly, but wrapped up the first set fairly comprehensively by emphatically taking advantage of his first set point and winning the ninth game to love.
He would move two sets ahead, taking the second 6-2, in a scoreline which did not tell the whole story after being made to sweat again at various points by the Italian. The Norwegian swatted away a break point in the second game and two in the fourth, before prevailing on both occasions.
Ruud managed to break Zeppieri in the seventh game after taking advantage of two unforced errors, and won the eighth comfortably to 15 to move one set away from the third round.
The warning signs were there for Ruud though, as Zeppieri showed his fighting spirit to keep his place in the contest with a superb third set.
Momentum was shifting the Italian’s way after he managed to survive four break points in the first game before managing to hold all five of his service games. A calamitous 10th game from Ruud ensured Zeppieri broke comfortably on his second set point. It was game on.
The first four games of the decisive fourth set were all held, before Ruud broke Zeppieri again with a superb smashed effort to move 3-2 in front. There was still time for some more nervy moments for Ruud, as two brilliant forehand shots from Zeppieri levelled the score at 5-5.
But the Italian was broken again, after peculiarly calling for the trainer when facing two break points, and Ruud served for the match after the brief delay to wrap up a tough win.
- - -
Stream the 2023 French Open live on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at eurosport.com
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article
/images.sports.gracenote.com/images/lib/basic/geo/country/flag/large/2210.png)
/images.sports.gracenote.com/images/lib/basic/geo/country/flag/large/2221.png)