Casper Ruud downs Holger Rune to set up a French Open semifinal against Marin Cilic

By Issy Ronald, CNN

Updated 1133 GMT (1933 HKT) June 2, 2022

Friday will mark the first time that 23-year-old Casper Ruud plays in a grand slam semifinal.

(CNN)In the first all-Scandinavian quarterfinal inFrench Open history, Norwegian Casper Ruud defeated Denmark'sHolger Rune 6-1 4-6 7-6(2) 6-3 to advance to the semifinal.

For both players, it was a maiden appearance in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros while 19-year-old Rune became the first Danish man to reach this stage of the French Open.Rune had enjoyed a fairytale run to the quarters, upsetting Denis Shapovalov in the first round and No. 4 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the fourth round, before eventually falling to Ruud.«A big day for Norwegian tennis because we have also a female player Ulrikke Eikeri who made the finals of mixed doubles today. She's even one step further than me!» Ruud said in his post-match, on-court interview.«These are the matches that you dream about playing. And hopefully, of course, even the final if it's possible,» he continued. «I have to be really focused and bring my A-game in the semifinal.»Read MoreRuud committed just 24 unforced errors during the match.The Norwegian began the match in an impressive fashion, breaking Rune twice to open up a 5-0 lead in the first set which he eventually won 6-1.«I started great but then Holger fought back well, raised his level and I had a really tough match in the end there,» Ruud said afterwards. The second set was more evenly balanced, as the two players traded breaks early on before Rune broke Ruud in the last game to level the match.But by the third set, Ruud seemed to have an answer for everything that the Dane tried; an inch-perfect approach shot was met by Ruud's outstretched backhand while a