The semi-final match between Casper Ruud and Marin Cilic was held up for 13 minutes on Friday when a protester ran onto the court
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Casper Ruud became the first Norwegian man to reach a Grand Slam final after he defeated Croatia’s Marin Cilic in four sets, at the French Open tennis tournament in the semi-final tage at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France. Although the semi-final match between Casper Ruud and Marin Cilic was held up for 13 minutes on Friday when a protester ran onto the court and tied herself to the net. The individual is identified to be a french environment activist.
The protester went onto the court and tied herself to the net, delaying the French Open semi-final between Casper Ruud and Marin Cilic for 13 minutes. During the sixth game of the third set, the lady sprang from the Court Philippe Chatrier audience. She was wearing a shirt that said, “We have 1028 days left.” She was ultimately taken off the court, and the players returned to their locker rooms. The organizers said she attached herself to the net with metal wires and glue. The young woman entered the grounds with a valid ticket. She was then handed over to the police.
Casper Ruud is still going strong in his debut Grand Slam journey. The 23-year-old reached his first major quarter-final earlier this month and is now through to the final after defeating Marin Cilic 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 in the semi-finals. The winners-to-unforced mistakes ratios for both players tell the tale of the match. After hitting just three wins (and five errors) in the first set, Ruud hit 16, 12, and 10 in the next three, outnumbering his errors by a comfortable margin in each. Cilic had a plus-four ratio in the first two sets but a minus-nine ratio in the final two.
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Rudd expressed that he was a bit loose initially and could gain some momentum after the first break and after that there was no looking back. “It was a great match from my side, I didn’t start the greatest, but Marin also played well in the first set. I was too defensive and then I was able to break him in the second set and that got me going again. From that break I played some of my best tennis this year. Serving well, playing aggressive, So I am super happy with my performance today.” opined the Norwegian player.
In Sunday’s final, the eighth seed will battle Rafael Nadal for the first time, attempting to deny the Spaniard a record-extending 14th Roland Garros trophy and 22nd Grand Slam singles victory.
