Casper Ruud – Hubert Hurkacz 1-1 (7-5, 3-6, 2-6)

Casper Ruud was on the verge of success in Montreal. With a semi-final victory over Hubert Hurkacz, the Norwegian managed to reach his second final in a Masters 1000 tournament of his career. However, it didn’t work.

The last time he played in such a final was in Miami earlier this year. Also then on hard surfaces, like in this tournament in Montreal.

– It was a bit of a shame, but it was a good tournament and Hurkacz was good. Casper opens very well, but then he spins out a bit in the second and third sets. I think Hurkacz is also a bit lucky, so it worked out a bit today, Christian Ruud told TV 2.

– Are you happy to have reached a semi-final?

– I think it’s more than approved. I know how many good players there are here, so a semi-final is very good. He takes with him 360 points from this tournament.

Ruud opened the match weakly against Hurkacz. The Pole led 3-0 in the first set, but then the Norwegian woke up to equalize at 3-3. At 5-5 in the first set, Ruud managed to break the Pole, who reached 196 centimeters above the ground, and eventually won the first set 7-5.

In the first set, the two also showed a lot of emotion. Ruud burst “Hell! Evil!” after losing a point. He then got the response from father and trainer Christian Ruud that he had to take it easy.

From there, it was Hurkacz who was moved. The Pole was forced to make many mistakes and was clearly frustrated. The otherwise calm Pole became so frustrated that he threw the racket to the ground after a lost point.

In the second set, it was even before Hurkacz again widened a gap with Ruud. The Pole made it 4-2 and then had to serve for a 5-2 lead, which he barely managed. The Pole eventually won the set 6-3.

In the third and decisive set, it was mainly Hurkacz who really wreaked havoc on the main court in Montreal. The set ended 6-2 for the Pole, who is therefore ready for the final.

The Norwegian tennis ace has shown some very solid results in Canada this week. In his first match, he won 2-0 against Alex Molcan before winning 2-1 against Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut.

In the quarter-finals, he met Félix Auger-Aliassime, who was the big hope at home in Canada. However, Ruud showed incredibly good tennis and crushed the youngster 6-1 and 6-2 in sets.

When TV 2 caught up with Ruud ahead of the tournament in Canada, we talked about the cachet Ruud has been wearing for the past few years. Last time at Roland Garros, Rafael Nadal’s coach Carlos Moya said no one was as clear on clay as Ruud.

– There are journalists and people on social networks who like to make a name for you. It’s perfectly fine for someone to call me a gravel specialist, because in the end, I prefer gravel. But I have nothing against playing on a hard court, Ruud told TV 2 and continued:

– It’s nice once in a while to play on a hard court where there are no false rebounds. There is also another challenge. Hits and serves are harder, so you need to play a bit more aggressively and try to get to the net more often. I think it’s fun, and there are also more tournaments on harcourt than on clay.