On Wednesday, Alexander Zverev secured his spot in the French Open semifinals after defeating Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Zverev’s return to the grand slam tournament comes after leaving the event in a wheelchair last year due to a serious ankle injury suffered during his semifinal match against Rafael Nadal. Following his injury, Zverev underwent surgery to repair his ligaments. His return to the sport was further delayed in September due to a bone edema issue. However, this season he began playing pain-free and showed glimpses of his peak form on Wednesday. Zverev claimed that the agony of last year was not on his mind anymore and that he’s solely focused on winning matches.
Ruud’s win against Rune
Casper Ruud also secured his spot in the semifinals after defeating Holger Rune 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. While the match lacked the vitriol of their bad-tempered clash in 2022, it was still equally captivating. Rune had beaten Ruud at the Italian Open last month, but he littered the court with 26 unforced errors in the first two sets. Ruud broke the young Dane in the second game to go 3-0 up, and two consecutive double faults and a forehand into the net gave Ruud another break to go 5-1 up before he sealed the first set a game later. Rune sank an easy smash into the net to drop serve in the very first game of the second set. Ruud was a model of consistency early on, keeping unforced errors to a minimum and forcing his younger rival to make them instead. Another easy forehand into the net by Rune gave Ruud a 4-1 lead before he quickly moved two sets up. The Dane, however, was not done yet, snatching his very first break at the start of the third to turn the tables. Rune clinched the third set with loud screams and shouts of “come on” after every single winning point, having added considerable power to his baseline game. But the Norwegian recovered and got his revenge with an early break in the fourth set, moving 4-1 clear. Another Rune double fault gave Ruud his first match point at 5-2. He missed another before sealing it on his serve with his fifth opportunity.
Upcoming semifinals
Zverev and Ruud will meet in the semifinals on Friday, while third-seeded Novak Djokovic and top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz will meet in the other semifinal. Zverev’s successful return from injury and Ruud’s consistent performance against Rune have set the stage for an exciting matchup between the two players. The winners of the semifinals will advance to the final of the French Open. Grand Slams are considered to be the most important events in tennis, and the players will undoubtedly be giving it their all to secure their spot in the final and make history.
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