Quarter-finals: Ruud in complete control
After defeating Nuno Borges in the parisian night, Casper Ruud joined Carlos Alcaraz in the final four of the Rolex Paris Masters.
Following the mouth-watering showdown between Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz, the evening-session crowd was treated to another quality contest on centre court. Having gone from a second-round qualifying defeat to a place in the quarter-finals in just a matter of days, lucky loser Nuno Borges, ranked No.49 in the world, made Casper Ruud (No.23) work hard for his victory.
The opening set was dominated by serve, with neither player facing a single break point. Slightly more clinical at the crucial moments, Ruud edged ahead by taking a well-managed tie-break. A statistical curiosity underlined how tight the contest was: the Norwegian won the set despite claiming fewer points than his opponent (38 to 40).
The second set followed a similarly close pattern until 3-2. Borges then earned the first break point of the match, only for Ruud to save it with a forehand that clipped the line. The Portuguese player did not know it at the time, but that would be his final opportunity.
In the very next game, Borges handed over the decisive break with a forehand into the net. Ruud, who required treatment from the physio towards the end of the match, never looked back. Remaining composed to the finish, he closed out the contest like a true frontrunner, 7-6(5), 6-4 in 1 hour and 32 minutes.
"It was a tough match," said the winner afterwards. "I know Nuno is capable of playing very well. He beat me in Basel a few days ago. But I played a good match, even though it's not always easy to compete at that time of night."
The three-time Grand Slam finalist, who had not reached the semi-finals of a hard-court Masters 1000 event since Montréal in 2022, has now earned the right to contest his first Rolex Paris Masters semi-final.
Standing in his way will be Carlos Alcaraz, an opponent he knows extremely well. In seven previous meetings, Ruud has managed just one victory against the Spaniard.
"Carlos is really fun to watch," he admitted with a smile. "But I'm feeling good and I haven't spent too many hours on court. I'll try to recover as well as possible."
He will need every bit of energy he can find if he hopes to tame the Spanish sensation.