Casper Ruud prevailed over Marin Cilic 3-6 6-4 6-2 6-2 in the second semi-final on Friday; the match was held up by 10 minutes after a woman tied herself to the net; Ruud is the first Norwegian man to make the finals of a Grand Slam singles event; he faces Rafael Nadal on Sunday
Last Updated: 03/06/22 10:01pm
Casper Ruud beat Marin Cilic 3-6 6-4 6-2 6-2 in the semi-final at Roland Garros
Casper Ruud reached his first Grand Slam final at the French Open, despite his match with Marin Cilic being interrupted and halted by a woman invading the court.
The semi-final, which Ruud won 3-6 6-4 6-2 6-2, was held up for 10 minutes after the woman walked on to the court and tied herself to the net.
The woman, believed to be a climate-change protester, wore a T-shirt bearing the slogan, ‘We have 1,028 days left’.
She strolled on to Court Philippe-Chatrier unchallenged during the third set and attached herself to the net, raising serious questions about security at Roland Garros.
Tournament director Amelie Mauresmo looked on as the players left the court while the woman was removed.
The match was held up for 10 minutes after a woman invaded the court and tied herself to the net
After a short warm-up the players resumed the match and the Norwegian eighth seed Ruud wrapped up his four-set victory and secured a meeting with 13-time champion Rafael Nadal in the final.
He said: “It was a great match from my side. I didn’t start the greatest but Marin also played well in the first set.
“I was too defensive. I broke him in the second set and after that break I started to play some of my best tennis this year, serving well and playing aggressive.
“Marin is usually the one playing very fast, he was serving big playing well coming to the net so I figured I had to step up counter-attacks and go for some fast shots and it helped and worked out and I raised my level.”
Ruud will face Nadal for the first time on Tour in Sunday’s final. Following his victory over Cilic, the 23-year-old openly shared what he admires about the ‘King of Clay’.
“Looking up to Rafa, he never complains and he’s the perfect example of how you should play on court – never give up and never complain. He’s been my idol all my life.”
Nadal reached the final after Alexander Zverev suffered a nasty ankle injury during their semi-final. The two men had been on court for over three hours when Zverev went over on his ankle and screamed in pain.
He left Court Philippe-Chatrier via a wheelchair and after a medical timeout, with the match poised at 7-6 (10-8) 6-6, returned on crutches to shake Nadal’s hand and tell the Chair Umpire he was unable to continue.
Don’t forget to follow us on skysports.com/tennis, our Twitter account @skysportstennis & Sky Sports – on the go! Available to download now on – iPhone & iPad and Android
