Ruud ran into something close to his rake at Philippe Chartier on Wednesday night. While the Norwegian looked restrained and focused, Rune threw a message into the stands, throwing the racket to the ground and hissing at the crowd.

The victory was secured by numbers 6-1, 4-6, 7-6, 6-3. But a lot happened before it could be collected.

“There’s a lot of screaming and roaring and yelling and a lot of drama at times,” Ruud said of his Danish rival’s behavior.

Because something happens around Runes all the time. Like when Ruud broke the Dane’s serve to 4-3 in the third set and let it go past his mother sitting in the stands.

– If you want to help, then go.

– Leave. Go, he shouted from the bench in the middle of the field.

Aneke Rune did as her son said. And it worked for a while. The 19-year-old immediately replied and raised a small notch.

The 19-year-old himself claimed that it was a misunderstanding after the game. It wasn’t his mother at all, but someone else. Who will he not answer.

Ruud: – It’s time to grow up

All the swearing and violent reactions seemed to make him more focused – and Ruud was annoyed. At one point, the 23-year-old gave a clear message to his Danish counterpart. He looked tired of that extravagant behavior.

– He asked me to be quiet, said Ruud, who was annoyed that the Dane wanted all the balls to be checked carefully even though they were clearly out of line.

After the match, Ruud deepened the frustration he felt during the match.

– I don’t know Holger personally, but have seen on TV that sometimes there is a lot of drama. “He’s young and new and it may be time, but when you’re on the big stage, maybe it’s time to grow a little bit,” Ruud told the Norwegian press in Paris and continued:

“There are other players who can also get frustrated and angry and break the racket, but I think it’s possible to show respect to the opponent and in my eyes there wasn’t much respect for what he did today,” said Ruud.

Narrowing back towards Ruud

At the same time, the Rune had just exited the passage leading to the press zone. He was close enough to be able to eavesdrop, but it’s uncertain how much he picked up from Ruud’s speech.

NRK asked the young Danish what he thought of Ruud thinking he should grow up a bit.

– I do not know. What he said online was “do you have to check every sign?” It was very dark and looked like it was almost inside, so I just checked it out. then he said “do you have to check every point?”. Then I said “don’t talk to me”, Rune told NRK.

Driving one way at the start

The 23-year-old from Snarøya started the game at breakneck speed – and sent Rune off the pitch in 33 minutes of the first set. He seemed almost unabashedly wary.

And it looks like this fight won’t last long.

Ruud continued to play well in the second set, but Rune adapted better and the Norwegian tended to hit the forehand. The difference becomes flat. And the Dane won the set to a huge cheer from the crowd.

Then Ruud showed his strength when he after a long third set secured the set 7-2 in the tiebreak. And in the fourth quarter, he proved to be the better player. He broke his serve to 5-3 and secured the win on his own serve.

Next opponent: – Difficult

Now Croatian Marin Cilic, 33, is waiting for his next match, after the Croatian beat Russia’s Andrej Rubljov 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 before Ruud went into action.

Cilic is the “only” ranked number 23 in the world, but previously he had been number three. The veteran has won at the US Open from 2014 and has lost more at the Australian Open and Wimbledon than before. Now he hopes for another chance.

– I’ve played against Casper twice. I would say he is one of the best on the gravel tour. “He’s had an incredible 12 months in the gravel and won a lot of titles, so it’s going to be a very tough game,” Cilic told NRK.

The Croatian lost on both finishes against Ruud, respectively on the pebbles in Rome in 2020 (2-6, 6-7) and on hard courts in Toronto last year by 3-6, 6-3, 3-6.

This is the first time that Croatia has reached the semifinals in France. Two of his 20 ATP titles went to waste.

– I have a strong way of playing and a strong serve, said Cilic, who prefers to focus on himself and his strengths.

– He played tennis in his life. He played a tough game today too, no advantage to anyone. “I slept late and will spend tomorrow relaxing as much as possible,” Ruud told Eurosport about his next opponent.

Olympic winner Alexander Zverev and 13-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal meet in the second semifinal.

The match was played on Friday afternoon. The finals begin on Sunday, at 15:00.

PS! On Thursday at 12.00, Ulrikke Eikeri and mixed doubles pair Joran Vliegen will play the final against second seeds Ena Shibahara and Wesley Koolhof.