Paris: Last year’s finalist Casper Ruud rallied to beat Zhang Zhizhen in the third round of the French Open on Saturday, ending a strong run by the Chinese player.
The fourth-seeded Ruud, who lost to Rafael Nadal in last year’s final, won 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-4.
Zhang was the first Chinese man to reach the third round at Roland Garros since Kho Sin-Khie in 1937. Kho also reached the fourth round in 1936 but that proved a step too far for Zhang, despite a lightning start on Court Suzanne
Lenglen.
Zhang broke Ruud in the opening game and went on to take the set as the Norwegian player grew more and more frustrated.
Matters grew worse for Ruud as he found himself 0-40 down on his serve early in the second set but he collected his emotions and after a topsy-turvy set went on to level the match at his first opportunity.
Ruud then improved in the last two sets and sealed the match with a forehand down the line on the first of two match points.
In women’s singles, last year’s runner-up Coco Gauff overcame a shaky start to end fellow teenager Mirra Andreeva’s French Open run with a 6-7(5) 6-1 6-1 victory on Saturday to reach the fourth round.
On a sunny afternoon, Gauff struggled to handle Russian Andreeva’s firepower before finding her stride to set up a meeting with Anna Karolina Schmiedlova of Slovakia or American qualifier Kayla Day with a potential quarter-final clash against holder Iga Swiatek looming.
“Mirra, she’s super young and has a big future for her. I remember when I was here as a 15-year-old, she has a look to lot forward to,” said the 19-year-old Gauff.
“In the first set, I had chances, we traded breaks and overall I knew the game plan so I tried to execute it in the second and third sets. We practised together earlier (before the draw) so I’m sure she picked up things from my game and I picked things from hers.”
The 16-year-old Andreeva, who burst onto the scene with two victories over top-20 players at the Madrid Open, forced Gauff onto the back foot with her explosive power from the baseline and took a 4-2 lead, only to allow the American to claw her way back.
In a first set where both players struggled to hold serve, Gauff went up 5-4 and 30-0 but got broken again before a poor shot at the net in the tiebreak gifted Andreeva the chance to take the advantage in the match.
The Russian wasted her first two set points and received a warning after hitting the ball into the packed Suzanne Lenglen stands.
She picked herself up, however, to bag the set with a swinging volley.
Andreeva then smashed her racket onto the ground in frustration as Gauff took the upper hand in the second set, winning five games in a row to level the match. The American broke for 3-1 in the decider and did not look back, ending Andreeva’s misery on her first match
point.