Injured Casper Ruud suffered a 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-0 defeat to Nino Borges to exit the ongoing French Open. Elsewhere, defending champions Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek both won their respective matches.
Two-time French Open finalist Casper Ruud suffered a surprise second-round exit at Roland-Garros. He was struggling with an injury to his left knee and it resulted in a defeat to Portugal’s Nino Borges 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-0 on Wednesday. The 2022 and 2023 finalist was struggling with pain for the entire clay season and was heavily reliant on painkillers and anti-inflammatory medication.
After the game against Borges, Ruud revealed that his injury restricted him from playing certain shots, as it was painful for him. He explained avoiding such shots in practice, but added that during matches, it is difficult to have such kind of control. Meanwhile, with this defeat, Ruud made his way out of the French Open in the second round for the first time since his debut in 2018.
“Certain movements out there are kind of what makes it painful. Certain shots are painful to do. When you’re playing matches, you can’t really control it in the same way (as in practice). You do everything you can to get to every ball,” said Ruud.
“Sometimes you kind of forget that this is a shot I shouldn’t go for. It’s a Slam. I love this tournament. Looking back, I tried my best to continue (and tried) to avoid the shots that are hurting. But towards the end, there were also other movements that started hurting, so it wasn’t ideal,” he added.
On the other hand, defending champions Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek both won their respective matches. Alcaraz overcame a slip in the second set to beat Fabian Marozsan 6-1, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. Swiatek beat Emma Raducanu 1-2, 6-6.
Other winners included Jasmine Paolini, Zheng Qinwen, and Canadian teen Victoria Mboko. American Bernarda Pera upset Wimbledon semifinalist Donna Vekic in a tight three-setter.