So there will be a little bit of Rafael Nadal in the final of Roland-Garros. The Spaniard with 14 titles is absent but his most faithful heir, Casper Ruud, will face Novak Djokovic this Sunday. The Norwegian chopped Alexander Zverev menu on Friday night in the second semifinal, concluded in 2:08 and in three sets (6-3, 6-4, 6-0). The resident of the Rafa Nadal Academy rallies his second final in a row on the Parisian clay, a year after losing to his model.
This Ruud-Zverev had neither the tension, nor the suspense, nor the dramaturgy of the Djokovic-Alcaraz of the mid-afternoon. He had everything from the express spanking, like those inflicted by Nadal during his best years in Paris. The German, ranked 22nd in the world, who was back in the semifinals a year after a serious injury to his right ankle, never found the solution to outrun the earthly Ruud.
Very, too solid, the native of Oslo strolled on the Centre Court of Roland-Garros. His serve never let him go (89% of break balls saved) and he was the most consistent (19 direct faults against 37 for Zverev). Finding him in the final is anything but a surprise, especially in a part of the table quickly cleared by the elimination of Russian Daniil Medvedev. Ruud eliminated his competitors one after the other like Holger Rune (No. 6) in the quarterfinals.
For his third Grand Slam final, after Roland-Garros and the 2022 US Open, he faces a completely different challenge: Novak Djokovic, whom he has never beaten in four encounters. Worse, he never took a set from her. Everything indicates that the Serb should win the tournament and lift a 23rd Grand Slam title, a record for the moment co-held with Rafael Nadal. What if Casper Ruud allowed his illustrious elder not to be overtaken right away?
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/FZIKUHFCJNEZVFBP67UCWX226Y.jpg)
