“It’s such a brutal sport sometimes”: Ruud emerges from match-point chaos to stay alive in Paris

Casper Ruud knows he is one of the most experienced players still alive at Roland-Garros after it was confirmed there would be no former Grand Slam champion remaining in the Round of 16. The Norwegian — a three-time major runner-up — survived a tough third-round duel against Tommy Paul, coming back from two sets down to secure the victory.

On Friday, Novak Djokovic was eliminated, adding to the earlier second-round exit of Jannik Sinner a day before. With the two multi-Grand Slam champions gone — alongside Carlos Alcaraz’s absence and the early elimination of Daniil Medvedev — and with Marin Čilić and Stan Wawrinka also out, the draw has opened significantly, even if those latter names were not expected to contend in Paris this year.

In this way, there are no former Grand Slam champions left in the draw, and the situation is set for potential surprises in the coming days. Three of the remaining contenders — Alexander Zverev, Ruud and Matteo Berrettini — have all previously reached Grand Slam finals, but only Zverev and Ruud have done so multiple times.

Both Zverev and Ruud have reached three major finals, while Berrettini has one appearance at that stage, highlighting a field now dominated more by finalists than champions. The Norwegian, who reached the Roland-Garros final in 2022 and 2023, suggested the situation increases both opportunity and volatility, while maintaining that his focus remains sequential rather than strategic in scope.

It has not been an easy path for the Norwegian — a proven clay specialist with two Roland-Garros finals already played — although he was defeated by Rafael Nadal in 2022 and Novak Djokovic in 2023.

With the biggest favourites no longer in the draw at this stage, the former world No. 2 emerges as one of the names positioned as a candidate to win his first major title. “It’s such an open tournament, which is kind of refreshing I guess for everyone to see that there will be a new Slam champion in about a week or so."

"I think every player is aware of it. Obviously Novak and Jannik were two of the highest favourites, and Jannik definitely the favourite. It will be interesting to see where we are in a week’s time.”

Only three top-20 players have already secured their place in the Round of 16 — among them Ruud (No. 16) — alongside Alexander Zverev (No. 3) and Andrey Rublev (No. 13). The Norwegian holds a 27-8 record at Roland-Garros, only surpassed by Zverev among the players still in the draw (41-10).

Among those still fighting for a place in the Round of 16 and holding higher rankings are Félix Auger-Aliassime (No. 6) — who is not particularly known for his clay results — Flavio Cobolli (No. 14) and Learner Tien (No. 18), although the latter two still have limited experience in major tournaments.

Ruud acknowledges that his experience in majors could be a factor that helps him go deep and dream big, although he admits he prefers a step-by-step approach, considering he has only passed three rounds so far. “I’m going to try to use the experiences I’ve had of reaching deep in Slams to my advantage and see where that takes me. You focus one match at a time.”

He has already had to overcome two five-set matches so far: in the first round against Roman Safiullin and this Friday in the third round against Tommy Paul. The American held a two-set lead and even had two match points, but could not convert them. It was nearly five hours of battle, which Ruud eventually closed out 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 7-5.

“I felt like he was the superior player for the first two sets, and my serve sort of made me hang in the second set," Ruud claimed. "He was dominating a lot and playing very loose and aggressive, coming to the net, making my game feel uncomfortable, and I didn’t really find any rhythm on his serve.”

“I was really not even sniffing a break point until the third set. I broke him quite early and that maybe changed the momentum a bit. You just take one set at a time here, and it’s battles like this you train hard for.”

In the Round of 16, the challenge will be João Fonseca, the player who eliminated Djokovic and is now among the names being discussed as potential title contenders.

The Brazilian had a similar path to Ruud in the third round — also surviving from two sets down to advance. However, the teenager will be playing the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career. “I have an incredible task ahead of me with a young, special talent like Joao. He has already beaten top players in his career so he knows what it takes, and today was probably the biggest win of his career.”

“We are kind of in the same position—we both came back from two sets down. It was long matches, so I’ll see if I can give him a good match and a fight. He’s a very nice kid, so I’m hoping for a good match.”