French Open 2023: Casper Ruud sees off plucky Giulio Zeppieri to reach third round at Roland-Garros

Casper Ruud survived a mid-match lull to reach the French Open third round with a 6-3 6-2 4-6 7-5 victory over Italian youngster Giulio Zeppieri. The Norwegian fourth seed was in cruise control after opening up a two-set advantage on Court Philippe-Chatrier, but a sloppy game when serving to stay in the third set gifted his opponent a route back into the match. Ad Zeppieri suddenly looked alive and full of belief as he cruised through his first two service games of the fourth set, only to falter at 2-2 as Ruud regained control with an important break.

Roland-Garros'Wow, that's a surprise!' — Reaction to Swiatek having same forehand speed as men's starAN HOUR AGO But the 21-year-old refused to go away and cracked his opponent’s serve again as he was trying to close out the match at 5-4, before he bizarrely called for the trainer when trailing 15-40 in the next game. From that moment on, any lingering resistance seemed to desert Zeppieri as Ruud quickly broke before serving out the match at the second time of asking. Speaking after the match, Ruud said: «It was tough.

I started well, got a break early and served well myself. »In a normal match I would have won 6-3 6-2, but in a five-set match you have a chance to fight back, and he did. «He played much better in the third set and fourth set, so it became very tough.

I’m very happy to come through, not play a fifth set and have more time to recover for my next match.» 'I felt like Bambi on ice' — Djokovic says wind and slippy conditions impacted his game Rybakina sees off Noskova to reach third round Raducanu splits with coach Sachs Ruud moved into a 3-0 lead in the first set, but it was not all plain sailing for him against the world No. 129. He staved off a break point in