French Open: 'Unbelievable' tweener from Casper Ruud floors Tomas Martin Etcheverry at Roland-Garros

Casper Ruud advanced to the round of 16 at the French Open, after being taken to four sets by Tomas Martin Etcheverry. In the third set, the pair played out a sensational 23-shot rally, culminating in "one of the shots of the tournament" from Ruud, who struck a shot through his legs to floor his opponent. Ruud is eyeing a third successive Roland-Garros final.

‘One of the points of the tournament!’ – Ruud floors Etcheverry with sublime tweener

Video credit: TNT Sports

Tomas Martin Etcheverry was sat down by a magnificent tweener from Casper Ruud, as the latter progressed to the French Open round of 16.
Ruud was taken to four sets by the underdog on Saturday evening, eventually delivering a 6-4 1-6 6-2 6-2 victory at Roland-Garros.
After the Argentine stunned the favourite to win the second set, Ruud came roaring back in the third - but not without some resistance.
In one superb rally at 1-0, the pair went back-and-forth on 22 shots. Ruud clipped the net twice, before the action became fast and furious with the ball not touching the ground.
Then, the Norwegian produced a wonderful effort between his legs with his back to Etcheverry, looping it over his opponent, who was forced onto the ground.
Eurosport commentator Richard Newman exclaimed: "No way! One of the points of the tournament."
Arvind Parmar added: "You have got to be kidding me. That is unbelievable! What a bit of skill that was. He couldn't have placed that any better, through the legs."
picture

Tomas Martin Etcheverry v Casper Ruud - Roland-Garros highlights

Video credit: TNT Sports

Ruud's brilliant tennis in that third set helped him move on to face Taylor Fritz on Monday.
The 25-year-old reflected on his victory: "There will be a rollercoaster. It's difficult to keep a perfect level over five sets. I'm very happy with the win - I started it well and finished well.
"You don't have to play every point perfectly, but in the end, I was feeling pretty strong, playing some good tennis in the third and fourth sets.
"This is always the goal, to reach the second week of a Slam. That's a great feeling. I've had good memories from the second week here before, so I'm going to look back at the last couple of years."
Ruud's "good memories" refer to making the final on the clay courts of Paris in each of the last two editions.
In 2022, he lost to Rafael Nadal in straight sets in the final, in what looks extremely likely to be the king of Roland-Garros' last triumph at the tournament.
picture

Ruud, Machac and Keys star in Top Shots on Day 7 of French Open

Video credit: TNT Sports

Last time out, the only man to top Nadal for all-time Grand Slam wins stood in Ruud's way, Novak Djokovic, who also eased to straight-sets glory.
---
You can watch every day of the 2024 French Open live and on-demand on discovery+.
Join 1M+ on app
Stay up to date with the latest news, results and live sports
Download
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement