(Taylor Fritz – Casper Ruud 6-7, 6-3, 4-6, 2-6) There he meets world number one Novak Djokovic – if he does not have to stop due to injury.
The last time they met was in Monte Carlo. There, Ruud defeated the Serbian tennis player for the first time.
– It will be another difficult match. It's always difficult. No matter where you play against him, it will be the toughest challenge in the sport, Ruud told the organizer after the round of 16 win over Taylor Fritz.
This was exactly what Djokovic lost to Ruud in the Grand Slam final at the French Open a year ago. Now he can already beat the Serbian in the quarterfinals.
– I have nothing to lose and I will try to enjoy it as much as possible, says Ruud.
Djokovic, who suffered a minor injury, qualified earlier on Monday in five sets against Francisco Cerundolo.
He suffered a knee injury during the match and had to receive treatment.
The cause must be what is believed to be unacceptable track conditions. In his post-match interview, he wasn't sure how serious it was.
– It's a completely new injury for me, so let's see how it goes when the knee gets colder, said the 37-year-old.
- Djokovic had to celebrate a little after a great point:
On Wednesday, he will be ready for the match against Ruud. But Djokovic actually raises uncertainty about whether he will play it at all.
– I was injured in you, but I survived and won the match. Glorious. But will I be able to play the next game? He said: I don't know.
- Did you get that hit from Rod?
After a crazy, exciting first set and a chaotic second set against Fritz, Casper Ruud managed to turn things around.
In the third set, the Norwegian played havoc with his American opponent at times and at one point it seemed that Fritz was completely exhausted.
At 5-2 in favor of Ruud, it was clear that Fritz, ranked No. 12 in the world, was suffering from something that meant he had to take a “medical time-out”.
Back on court, Ruud took the set and after that Fritz never reached the level he showed in the first two sets.
“Luckily for me, he seemed to be struggling physically, so I just tried to improve my game and I'm very happy,” Rudd says.
Ruud struggled at times with Fritz's serve and his difficult forehand in the beginning, and in the second set he faced a problem.
Fritz won the set 6-3 and seemed to have a bit of control over Ruud.
– It was very difficult and Taylor has upped her game in recent years. He serves very well and moves better on the court. He is a dangerous player, Ruud praises his opponent.
This happened after Ruud himself secured a narrow victory in the first set.
The set went to a tie-break and Ruud looked defeated after six points.
The Snarøya boy was 1-5 down, but turned it around brilliantly to 8-6. In the end, he won 3-1 and qualified for the quarter-finals.
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