Richard Pagliaro | @tennis_now | Wednesday, May 28, 2025
Image source: Mateo Villalba/Getty
A random left knee and toughness Nuno Borges Transfer Roland Garros to the second round to enter Mayday Casper Ruud.
No. 41, Borges defeated two French Open finalists Ruud 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-0, leaving his mark on the Portuguese to reach the third round of Roland Garros in tournament history.
Ruud made his own mean history weeks after Madrid won his virgin ATP 1000 title.
It was Ruud’s first exit in Paris since its debut in 2018. Ruud saw his pursuit of the fourth straight winning streak of Roland Garros in the semifinals as he lost 12 of his 13 games.
“Hope is nothing too serious. I’ve been struggling a little with knee pain over the past few weeks.” “That’s why I decided to quit Geneva after Rome, do my best and be ready here.
“When you practice, it’s easier to avoid certain painful movements before the game begins. It’s not painful. Nothing is painful. But some movements have something that makes it painful. Some shots are painful.
“When you play, you can’t really control the game the same way.
The seventh seed Ruud joins the fourth seed Taylor Fritzwho will fall Daniel Altmaier In the first round, Daniil Medvedevserve for the game before bowing Cameron Norrie Yesterday, in the five-set thriller, the third place was the 11 seeds in the first two rounds.
“I actually felt it early in the first set,” Rude told the Paris media. “I can tell you that like one of the most injured shots is sliding on the left foot, the backhand is the biggest because it’s the left knee.
“It’s very, very specific. But there’s a bit of pain on the left as you spin my foot inward. It’s the worst shot for me and it’s been going on for weeks. I’m trying not to show it to my opponent it’s right.”
Ruud played the “Rat Game”, a game on the ATP Tour that includes a busy schedule, a busy ranking in the game, and a fine if you miss a mandatory event that forces players even if you get injured.
“In terms of ranking, it’s also like a rat game,” Rude told the Paris media. “Of course, if my legs were broken, I wouldn’t play. But anyway, it’s tough, especially when there’s a time when there’s a necessary event to skip them, because the punishment is very difficult, as far as everyone else is concerned, playing football, getting points, and you won’t.
“Also, if you don’t participate in a mandatory event, you have a certain bonus system set up. It’s a suspicious system because on the one hand you don’t want someone injured and you might put it on someone else.
“I’m not sure if you know, but if you don’t participate in a mandatory event, they cut 25% of your year-end bonus. You kind of force players to get injured or sick, or anything else when I think it’s not very fair.”
Borges defeated Ruud for the first time in three meetings and now reaches the third round in three of four Grand Slams: the Australian Open, Roland Garros and the U.S. Open.
Borges’ next is the third round of conflict with. Alexei Popyrin. No. 25 seed Australia sweeps Alejandro Tabilo 7-5, 6-3, 6-4.
Rude said that after Rome, he spent five days resting not enough to remedy his sloppy knee.
The former U.S. Open finalist unveiled the prospect of skipping pasture season – grass is his least favorite surface – trying to recover. Ruud hasn’t surpassed Wimbledon’s second round in five career games
“We’ll see it,” Rud replied when asked if he would close the grass season. “I’ll go home and do more scans as soon as possible to see if there are any changes.
“But in Rome and here, I’ve been on a total vacation at home for five days. That’s not enough to make the pain go away. I absolutely think I need more than five days of rest and then enjoy a status in a week or two to see where I’m.
“I wish I could stay here for a longer time. Of course, to resume the upcoming game, that would leave more time.”
