Ruud roars, Jabeur races into quarter-finals

PARIS: Casper Ruud continued his bid to reach back-to-back finals at the French Open by fending off Chile’s Nicolas Jarry in a 7-6(3), 7-5, 7-5 fourth-round win on Monday as Tunisian trailblazer Ons Jabeur also stayed on course for a maiden Grand Slam crown.

Ruud, who has only dropped two sets in four matches so far, faced a tricky test against lanky claycourt specialist Jarry but pulled through in three hours and 20 minutes as his opponent failed to make his chances count in the last two sets.

He next faces Dane Holger Rune in a re-match of last year’s quarter-final. Rune prevailed over Francisco Cerundolo in a thrilling five-setter that lasted four hours. Rune won 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(10-7).

Jabeur moved into the quarter-finals at Roland Garros for the first time with a 6-3, 6-1 win over American Bernarda Pera and hoped that the romantic atmosphere of Paris will help her quest for a maiden Grand Slam title.

“Paris is always romantic, day or night. Winning here will definitely be an amazing memory for me,” said Jabeur, who became the first African player to reach the quarters at each of the four majors in the Open Era.

The Tunisian had reached the Australian Open quarter-final in 2020 and finished runner-up to Elena Rybakina and Iga Swiatek in the Wimbledon and US Open title clashes last year.

The 28-year-old is not getting complacent ahead of her clash with 14th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia, who beat Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-7(3), 6-3, 7-5 to become the first Brazilian woman since Maria Bueno in 1968 to make the quarter-finals of a major.

Haddad Maia became only the second Brazilian woman to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final in the Open Era after Bueno and she got there in three hours and 51 minutes -- the longest women’s match of the tournament.

Russian Daria Kasatkina said she left the tournament with a sense of bitterness after being booed off by the crowd following her fourth-round defeat by Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina on Sunday.

RESULTS: Men: Fourth round: C Ruud bt N Jarry 7-6(3), 7-5, 7-5; H Rune bt F Cerundolo 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(10-7). Women: O Jabeur bt B Pera 6-3, 6-1; C Gauff bt AK Schmiedlova 7-5, 6-2; B Haddad Maia bt S Sorribes Tormo 6-7(3), 6-3, 7-5