French Open: Ruud ousts Hurkacz to reach maiden Grand Slam quarters

Paris, May 30 : Casper Ruud fended off a strong comeback from Polands Hubert Hurkacz to complete a 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory in the fourth round of the French Open and reached his maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal here on Monday.In a meeting between two players both making fourth-round debuts in the French capital, it was the World No.

8 Ruud who took control early as the 12th-seeded Hurkacz was unable to consistently counter the powerful ball-striking of the 23-year-old Norwegian on Court Suzanne Lenglen.Ruud demonstrated the ability to handle tough match situations on his way to the last eight in Paris.

He opened with an emotional four-set win in home favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsongas last match before retirement and came through a five-set thriller against Lorenzo Sonego in the third round.Despite the efforts of Monte Carlo and Madrid quarter-finalist Hurkacz, Ruud was clinical in notching two breaks of his own to seal an eighth straight win and book a quarter-final appointment with Stefanos Tsitsipas or Holger Rune.

"It feels great," said Ruud in his on-court interview."Its been one of the goals for me this year, to try and reach the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam.

I dont know why, but suddenly when I came here this year I felt a little bit more experienced playing five sets.I wasnt able to play in Australia so Roland Garros was a big goal for me, especially this year.

""Hubert has improved a lot on clay from previous years,"" said Ruud."He has become a dangerous player on all surfaces, especially here on the clay where if the sun is out, it is quite fast.

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