Rome [Italy], May 18 : Norway's Casper Ruud continued his surge in Rome, defeating Francisco Cerundolo in the quarterfinals of the ongoing Italian Open on Wednesday.
He defeated the 24th seed by 7-6(5), 6-4 to reach the semi-finals of the tournament. The Norway star has advanced to the final four of the tournament on three successive occasions and will take on Holger Rune.
Ruud took the court after losing two straight matches to Cerundolo, including a straight-sets setback just weeks before in Barcelona. But after two hours and five minutes, the 24-year-old got his revenge on the Roman clay.
"I am just very happy to play good tennis and be in the semi-finals. It's going to be a very, very fun one, hopefully," said Ruud after the match as quoted by ATP.
Notably, Holger Rune on Wednesday produced a masterclass performance and kept his focus to overcome Novak Djokovic in a thrilling quarter-final at the Italian Open.
The 20-year-old Danish tennis player prevailed 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 to seal a win against the World No. 1 in a match that lasted for two hours and 19-minute triumph.
Although a six-time champion Djokovic won the second set after the players had been forced to leave the court due to rain for just over an hour, Rune refocused and won the match at the Foro Italico in two hours and 19 minutes.
The Dane had raced to win the opening set against the defending champion and top seed Djokovic, who was treated by the physio at 2-1 in the second set.
Despite reclaiming the break, the World No. 7 was under pressure fitting to stay in the second set when the weather forced play to be suspended at 6-2, 4-5, 0/30 in the game.
"It's really a big win for me. Obviously, I did it last year in Paris as well, but every match is a huge challenge for me when I play against Novak. He's one of the greatest that's ever played the game. I knew I had to be at my best and I said it yesterday, and I was today. I'm super proud of myself and I enjoyed every moment out there," ATP.com quoted Rune as saying after his win over World No.1.
"I stay humble of course. I have a lot to achieve. I think you should always be humble. I think I am, I hope so and I hope people see me this way. I'm a huge fighter on the court and I leave everything when I play my matches. I'm super proud I was able to get the victory today. I had to fight hard and play my best tennis," said Rune.
"Huge credit to Novak, I'm a big fan of his. He's a huge inspiration and I wish him all the best," he added.
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