French Open 2023: Casper Ruud beats Giulio Zapieri to enter third round

Casper Ruud continued to build on the early momentum in the ongoing French Open 2023 as he overcame a spirited second round challenge from Giulio Zeppieri at the clay-court major on Thursday. The fourth seed defeated the Italian qualifier 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 on Court Philippe-Chatrier. Ruud produced a high-level all-around performance for most of the three-hour, four-minute match, but Zapieri used her flamboyant lefty game to gain a foothold in the contest and win the third set. The Norwegian’s consistent deep groundstrokes were key in his victory, as he converted five of 13 break points to reach the third round at Roland Garros for the fifth year in a row.

The 24-year-old continues his latest campaign in the French capital with a third-round clash against China’s Zhang Zhizhen or Argentine qualifier Thiago Agustin Tirante. “It was a tough match. I started well, broke early and served myself well. That’s the beauty of best-of-five sets. In a normal match, I would have won 6-3, 6-2, but Here you have a chance to fight like he did. He played much better in the third set and the fourth set and it got much tougher,” ATP.com told Ruud in his on-court interview.

Rude mood is _

He defeated Zapieri_ 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 to enter the third round.
@Roland Garros , #Roland Garros pic.twitter.com/Ytr7EvC9aL

– ATP Tour (@atptour) June 1, 2023

“At the end there too, I served for the match, and played that well, and got pretty physical out here. So, I’m very happy to come in and it was nice not to play the fifth set today. I have my next Extra time to recover for the match.” The Norwegian claimed his 10th Tour-level crown in Estoril in April, but the early exits have also resulted in some surprising losses.
Rude’s semifinal run at the ATP Masters 1000 in Rome last month suggested he was brimming with confidence on the biggest stage, and his strong start to Roland Garros will raise hopes he can make another deep run in Paris. Despite the fact that the conditions were hotter than his remarkable performance last year, the 24-year-old demonstrated his ability to adapt with a very strong performance in which he committed only 28 unforced errors against his opponent’s 51.

“So far so good, but there are still a lot of matches to be played in the tournament. I’m happy to be here, happy to have won my first two games…these are perfect playing conditions if you ask me. Twenty-four or 25 degrees , sunny, beautiful Paris. There is so much to enjoy on this court and in this tournament,” said Ruud.