Sixth seed Rune looked down and out but after a quick break before the third set he came out firing, using the energy of the French crowd to switch the momentum, break early and serve out the set. His focus improved slightly in the second but the unforced errors remained, allowing Ruud to take full control as he took a two-set lead in just 68 minutes. In a repeat of last year's quarter-final, Rune got off to a terrible start under the lights, with Ruud breaking in all but one of his service games in the first set as the young Dane hit five double faults and 18 unforced errors. Hewett thrashes Reid before pair win in Paris doubles.Swiatek beats Gauff to set up Haddad Maia semi-final.Zverev will face his toughest test so far against Ruud, while world number one Carlos Alcaraz plays 22-time major champion Novak Djokovic in the other semi-final on Friday. The German, 26, left the tournament in a wheelchair last year after badly damaging ankle ligaments in his semi-final against Rafael Nadal, an injury that sidelined him for several months. Ruud will play Germany's Alexander Zverev for a place in the final.įormer world number two Zverev earlier beat Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-4 3-6 6-3 6-4 to cap an emotional return to Roland Garros. There were none of the fiery antics external-link from last year's match between the pair, with Ruud withstanding a late surge from Rune to win.
