By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday May 17, 2023

Last 12 months at Roland-Garros, Casper Ruud and Holger Rune had a frosty encounter that led to some dangerous blood off the court docket. Rune later stated that Ruud, miffed by a few of Rune’s antics throughout their tense four-set quarterfinal, taunted him within the locker room.

Ruud denied it, calling it a “big lie” in his native tongue, and since then the animosity that the pair now share has been quietly percolating – till now...

It might be rivalry renewed on Saturday in Rome.

Ruud and Rune each got here via their quarterfinals on Wednesday in Rome to set an all-Scandinavian semifinal, and the fifth all-time assembly for the pair.

It’s a rivalry that has been dominated by Ruud up to now, because the Norwegian has gained all 4 battles and claimed 9 of ten units in opposition to Rune, however the Danish star is carving a path to the highest of the game and Friday’s semifinal makes for must-watch tennis.

The rivalry is heating up, however the friendship stays reasonably tepid.

Have they grow to be pals since their heated quarterfinal in Paris final june?

“That’s a good question,” stated Ruud. “I think we both respect each other. I didn’t send him a Christmas card and neither did he, to me, so I’m not sure if we can say that we are too close."

Anxious to change the subject, Ruud turned the conversation to a happier subject: the rise of players from Nordic countries on the ATP Tour. But he did say that he hoped that Saturday's semifinal between himself and Rune is more "friendly."

"It’s great to see Scandinavian success, I think it’s really good for Nordic countries. Ruusuvuori (who hails from Finland) is there, the Ymer brothers from Sweden, it’s really cool to have a group of guys that are good and we get along good enough so we are just going to focus on the tennis part on Saturday, both of us, and hopefully make it more friendly during and after the match this time.”

"I never sent him a Christmas postcard and neither did he to me"@CasperRuud98 previews his semi-final conflict with Holger Rune!#IBI23 pic.twitter.com/LyDTfFl0Tq

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 17, 2023

  Ruud on Rune: He’s Improved So Much  

They might not be bosom buddies, however Ruud has the utmost respect for the rising Dane’s recreation.

“He’s a very energetic player," Ruud said. “We haven’t played since Roland-Garros last year, where there was quite the match. He’s improved so much. I played him a couple of times 2021 and a couple of times in 2022 and his improvement is really good, you can see that his confidence is good on court and he really deserves to be where he is at the moment. He has big goals for his career and he is [passing] through one goal after another, so I’m just going to try to think about what I’ve done well against him before.”

Win or lose on Saturday, and regardless of the stress that also lingers between himself and Rune, the World No.4 is comfortable to be gamers from Nordic international locations making their technique to the highest of the game.

“I think it’s great for Scandinavian tennis,” Ruud stated. “We have two Scandinavians here in the semifinals in Rome – it shows that we are doing something good up there in the north.”

Content Source: www.tennisnow.com