A haughty and disrespectful liar. This is the picture that was drawn by Casper Ruud in the Danish media after Wednesday’s quarterfinal match against Holger Rune. The Norwegian woke up to a media storm the day before the most important match of his life, and the story of the Scandinavian fighting cocks managed to take many turns before the Dane ended the public quarrel by wishing his rival good luck. MENTAL STRENGTH: Experts do not know how much the media storm has changed Ruud’s semi-final run-up. Photo: CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT / AFP Now the experts are unsure of how much energy this very special charge may have cost Ruud in the semi-finals. – I know that team Ruud has not been fond of controversies in the press before, so I hope they are not affected by this, says tennis commentator Sverre Krogh Sundbø. Aneke Rune, Holger Rune’s mother, also points out to NRK that it is essential to be calm during tournaments. – We know ourselves how much space the media and press take up during a tournament, and it is important to have peace of mind when going out and achieving great results, she writes in an e-mail. Ice-cold atmosphere But there has been little peace of mind between the mentioned quarter-final and tonight’s semi-final. The clock had just passed 01.00 on Thursday night when the mobile phone suddenly came on. “Casper RUUD – PC – NOW – Mixed Zone” lit up the screen. The journalists left their seats synchronously and jogged to fit a few square meters. The surprise was great. Normally it takes about an hour and a half from the end of the match until Ruud meets the press. Night to Thursday he was down to 20 minutes. He wanted to get rid of the obligations before an hour later he cooled down with an ice bath and focused on the semifinals. It should be easier said than done. Because when he woke up, he was cover material in Norway and Denmark – and the big talking point in Paris. Holger Rune and his mother Aneke still had the match off the field. Through the Danish media, the 19-year-old accused Ruud of shouting “Jaaaa” in his face in the locker room after the match, and Rune thought the Norwegian was hoarse and lacked respect. The Ruud camp was forced to respond and father Christian Ruud dismissed it as a pure lie, but was quickly accused of the same in return by mother Rune. The confusion was complete. The atmosphere seemed icy cold. 18 hours after the match was over, just 24 hours before the NRK Radio-broadcast semi-final, Casper Ruud himself went out and denied the accusations at Eurosport. – Better to avoid noise Mother Rune did not want to comment on the allegations of lies to NRK late Thursday night. Instead, she thought it was time to look ahead. – I think we should respect that Casper is in his first grand slam semifinal, and let them focus on that, was the message. Eurosport commentator Ola Bentzen believes that the Norwegian masters. – He is very good at focusing on the right things, and I think they have been good at dealing with what has happened. Of course it is better to avoid noise, but I do not think it takes that much energy, he says. He is supported by colleague Christer Francke: – It has not been ideal, but for Casper I do not think it has taken that much energy. It should not really have much to say for the total, the commentator thinks. Ruud’s key recipe How well the Norwegian has managed to prepare, they get the answer on Friday night. Then awaits Marin Cilic, a far more experienced player when it comes to semifinals in the Grand Slam context. SEMIFINAL OPPONENTS: Marin Cilic Photo: Jean-Francois Badias / AP The Croatian has played five of them. Three have ended in victories. One time – in 2014 – he went all the way to the top of the US Open. Casper Ruud believes some of the key may lie in dominating the match from the start, as he did against both Hubert Hurkacz and Holger Rune in the two previous matches. He won the first set 6-2 and 6-1 respectively. – It is obviously an advantage to win the first set. There are long matches here, so getting a good start and leadership helps here. But things can change. You can lead 2-0 and lose or be below 0-2 and win. There will be long matches, says Ruud to NRK. PS! Casper Ruud meets Marin Cilic after the first semifinal between Rafael Nadal and Alexander Zverev has been completed. Ruud is running no earlier than 17.30. The match can be heard on NRK Radio or seen on Max and Discovery +.
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– Hope they are not affected – NRK Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule
