Casper Ruud is one of the only remaining players with experience of reaching a Grand Slam final remaining in the Roland Garros men’s singles draw this year.
Ruud is a three-time Grand Slam finalist, with Alexander Zverev and Matteo Berrettini the only two other players left in the tournament who have reached major finals before.
That is due to the shock defeats of Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic, who were beaten by Juan Manuel Cerundolo and Joao Fonseca, respectively.
Ruud nearly joined them, but after saving two match points to beat Tommy Paul, the Norwegian reacted to the losses of both Sinner and Djokovic at Roland Garros this year.
Casper Ruud reveals what he is going to try to do after Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic’s losses
Ruud came from two sets down to beat Paul 4-6, 6(4)-7, 6-4, 7-6(4), 7-5 in four hours and 43 minutes, reaching the fourth round of Roland Garros for the fourth time in his career.
In his post-match press conference after beating Paul, Ruud was asked about the losses of both Sinner and Djokovic.
Where does Jannik Sinner’s defeat to Juan Manuel Cerundolo rank among the most shocking results in tennis history?
Ruud admitted that he found the open nature of Roland Garros ‘refreshing’, as he explained that he would try to use his previous experience of reaching a Grand Slam final to help him.
However, the world number 16 was aware of the big obstacle ahead of him in the fourth round, as Ruud faces Fonseca for the first time.
“Yeah, it’s such an open tournament, which is kind of refreshing, I guess, for everyone and to see that there will be a new Slam champion in about a week or so, and I think every player is aware of it,” said Ruud.
“So obviously, Novak and Jannik was one of the two highest favourites with Jannik definitely the favourite. And yeah, it will be interesting to see where we are in the week’s time.
“I’m gonna try to use the experience that I have of reaching far in Slams to my advantage, and see where that takes me, but you focus one match at a time and I have an incredible task ahead of me with a young special talent like Joao. He has already beaten top players in his career, so he knows what it takes and today was probably the biggest win of his career.
“So I will… we are kind of in the same position. We came back from 0-2, it was long matches, so I’ll see if I can give him a good match and the fight and you know, he’s a very nice kid, so I’m hoping for a good match.”
Have we seen the last of Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros? 😢
How much time has Casper Ruud spent on court at Roland Garros this year?
While Ruud has an advantage in his previous experience of reaching a Grand Slam final, he has spent a lot of time on court already at Roland Garros.
Two of his matches so far have gone to five sets, which includes Ruud struggling with heatstroke in his first round match at Roland Garros.
Ruud has already spent 10 hours 42 minutes on court, which is an average of three hours and 34 minutes per match.
This is significantly more than the highest-ranked player remaining in the draw, Zverev, who has spent an average of only two hours and 21 minutes on court per match, and has only dropped one set so far.
| Roland Garros 2026 | Casper Ruud’s time spent on court |
| First Round vs Roman Safiullin | 3 hours 56 minutes |
| Second Round vs Hamad Medjedjovic | 2 hours 3 minutes |
| Third Round vs Tommy Paul | 4 hours 43 minutes |
| Total | 10 hours 42 minutes |
Ruud also spent a lot of time on court prior to Roland Garros this year, having reached the final of the Italian Open and also played four matches in Geneva.
This may not be as much of a factor in his upcoming match against Fonseca, who has played back-to-back five set matches after coming from two sets down to beat both Dino Prizmic and Djokovic.
