Damien Kayat previews Casper Rudd vs Holger Rune and Carlos Alcaraz vs Novak Djokovic in selected quarter-final and semi-final matches of the French Open, on the 7th and 8th of June 2023.
2023 ATP Tour
Grand Slam Tennis
French Open
Stade Roland Garros, Paris, France (Outdoor Clay)
Selected Quarter-finals and Semi-finals – 7th & 8th June
Quarter-final – 7th June
Casper Rudd 8/11 | Holger Rune 11/10
This looks set to be a mouth-watering clash between two quintessential clay-court baseliners. Casper Rudd has once again showcased his considerable Grand Slam mettle in this year’s French Open. Ruud looked like something of a spent force about a month ago.
Sure, he won a fairly poor Estoril Open. But he never reached the quarterfinal stage in eight events outside of Estoril. But his semi-final run on the red dirt in Rome seemed to suggest that the Norwegian may be peaking at the right time. Rudd reached the finals of last year’s French and US Opens.
He seems to thrive in these five-set slugfests and this fortnight has been no exception. He never had it all his own way last time out against Jarry. He actually needed to come back from deficits in both the 2nd and 3rd set. But his forehand ultimately wore Jarry down and he picked up a tight straight-sets win.
That result means he has now won ten of his last eleven matches at Roland Garros. Next up for Rudd is the man he beat in last year’s quarterfinal: Holger Rune.
Danish wunderkind Holger Rune has fast become one of the most consistent players in world tennis. Rudd emerged as the new prince of clay in 2022. Rune has almost certainly usurped that mantle in 2023.
His 4th round victory over clay-court specialist Francisco Cerundolo took his 2023 clay-court record to 16-3. He reached finals Monte-Carlo and Rome and picked up his 2nd consecutive title in Munich. His victory against Cerundolo was a strange, rollercoaster affair.
He actually hit fewer winners and committed more unforced errors in their epic five-set tussle. It sort of typifies the Dane. Even when he isn’t playing his best tennis, Rune finds a way. His tenacity and fighting spirit are a joy to behold.
He will be looking to exorcise last year’s quarterfinal demons in his quest to reach a maiden Grand Slam semi-final.
Verdict: Rudd to win in four sets at 29/10
Rudd holds a commanding 4-1 head-to-head record against the young Dane. But Rune crucially won their last meeting at this year’s Italian Open. This is an interesting one.
Rune is in better form and I actually backed him to go deep this week. But seeing Rudd grow into this tournament has given me pause for concern. He is battle-hardened in the vagaries of Grand Slam tennis and Rune still needs to navigate those waters.
You can expect plenty of brutal, exhausting rallies. Rune will throw in a few drop-shots to disrupt Rudd’s rythym. I just think that Rudd’s consistent forehand power will win the day. Also, Rune was broken consistently by Cerundolo in their 4th round match.
Semi-final – 8th June
Carlos Alcaraz 12/25 | Novak Djokovic 8/5
Could this semifinal clash be more tantalizingly poised? Victory for Alcaraz would guarantee he finishes the tournament ranked number one in the world. Djokovic will need to win the tournament in order to wrestle that honour away from him.
I could not have been more wrong in my assessment of the Alcaraz-Tsitsipas match. The indominable Alcaraz made the World No.5 look like a journeyman pro on the wrong end of a bad draw. Some of the shot-making by the Spaniard was on another level.
He hit 36 winners and committed just 20 unforced errors in a dominant straight-sets win over the hapless Greek. The win took his incredible 2023 record to 35-3.
It says something about Alcaraz that this could be one of the biggest tests of Djokovic’s storied career. The Serb has looked serene in his quest for a record 23rd Grand Slam title.
This despite coming into this year’s event in pretty poor form. He hadn’t gone beyond the quarterfinal stage of the three events leading into this year’s French Open. He hasn’t reached a final since emerging victorious in Melbourne earlier this year.
He also came into this event under a slight ‘injury’ cloud. I put injury in apostrophes because there’s always been a touch of the theatrical to Djokovic’s ‘injury’ issues. But he has looked effortless in his quest for a 3rd French Open title, breezing through the first week of the tournament with little fuss.
But Karen Khachanov gave him exactly the sort of gruelling encounter I anticipated. Djokovic was outplayed for large parts of the first two sets. He lost the first but managed to win the 2nd in a tiebreaker. From that point on he looked back to his best.
Verdict: Alcaraz to win in four at 23/10
This will only be the 2nd career meeting between these two. Alcaraz won an epic three-set match at last year’s Madrid Open. Could this be the moment when the new era usurps the old?
I think it is. Alcaraz’s combination of movement and power is just awe-inspiring. Djokovic’s famed defensive skills put him in prime position to repel the Spaniard. But Alcaraz’s drop-shot ability will keep the Serb in two minds at every moment.
