"It's a big lie" - Ruud slams Rune for comments about him

Casper Ruud accused Holger Rune of lying in a Eurosport Norway interview as their French Open war of words intensified following a testy Roland-Garros quarter-final on Wednesday.

Rune claimed that Ruud shouted in his face after claiming a 6-1 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 win at the quarter-final stage of the French Open. However, the Norwegian - set to take on Marin Cilic in the semi-finals on Friday - has disputed that, saying it was a lie.

The row also brought in the two men's parents, with Rune's mother disputing a claim from Ruud's father that the incident did not happen. Ruud has now had his own say on the controversy. Ruud said:

“No, what he says is wrong. What he says is really not what happened. We both were in the dressing room after the match, and it's obviously a huge dressing room. There are many players, so we were just in our own part of the room all the time. I took an ice bath, ate some pizza and listened to music, before we went home. While Holger sat in his part of the dressing room."

He continued:

“How he creates the story of me shouting 'YES' straight into his face is just a lie. It never happened. Its a big lie. It’s disappointing that he creates lies about me. For me it doesn't matter if he thinks I am a player who doesn't follow the fair play rules, that's not really what matters. That’s his personal opinion, but to put out lies about me like this is not right. I really wish this is the last time he will do something like this.”

He finally finished off with:

“I understand that some players are more emotional than others, and I am as well sometimes. He is obviously someone who plays with many emotions involved. I am not surprised about that, but it's a shame that he comes up with all these lies against me and my family.”