(Provided by Tennis World USA)
Norwegian tennis star Casper Ruud gave recognition to Danish tennis legend Caroline Wozniacki following his French Open quarterfinal win against Holger Rune. In a Scandinavian battle between Ruud and Dane’s Rune, the Norwegian was the one who ended on the winning side after claiming a 6-1 6-2 3-6 6-3 victory.
For the second consecutive year, Ruud and Rune met in the French Open quarterfinal stage. But before Ruud and Rune became stars, Wozniacki put Scandinavian tennis on the map by winning a Grand Slam and reaching the world No 1 spot.
At the 2018 Australian Open, Wozniacki became the first Dane to win a Grand Slam. “Obviously with Caroline Wozniacki being world No 1 and winning a Grand Slam. She sort of started the whole thing I guess,” Ruud said after the match.
Ruud gives a shout-out to Wozniacki after beating Rune
Ruud, the 2023 French Open runner-up, didn’t really enjoy much success in early 2023. After beating world No 6 Rune and progressing into the French Open semifinal, Ruud called it his biggest win of the season.
“Very happy. It’s for sure maybe the biggest win of the year for me considering how the year has been, so very happy with it,” Ruud said. Meanwhile, many were stunned by how poorly Rune played in the first two sets against Ruud.
After the match, Ruud came to Rune’s defense as the Norwegian noted the 20-year-old Dane is already one of the best in the game. “He plays aggressively. He plays fearless. Some days he will play wonderful, and he will hit some of the most beautiful winners, some of the most beautiful dropshots that any player can hit.
Some days, some evenings like today, he will be a bit, I don’t know, uncoordinated or do more mistakes than usual. But he is young. He will learn. He is one of the youngest guys on tour. He is one of the best in the world already, so he has 15 years to improve and improve and improve,” Ruud explained.
