Norway

Casper Ruud

Germany

Alexander Zverev

The German will delight his fans and reach the final of the prestigious tournament

Kasper Ruud and Alexander Zverev will play in the semi-finals of the French Open on 9 June. Who will be successful? The Norwegian and German will play their fifth head-to-head encounter on Friday. They have only met in the quarter-finals before, each time on hard court. Kasper's road to the semi-finals was not an easy one. He managed to win convincingly both on the court and on the score sheet in only one of his five matches. In the first round against Elias Imer he won in three sets. He gave up one set each to Giulio Zeppieri and Zhang Zhizheng, and with Nicholas Harri he brought matters to three tie-breaks. Ruud's problem is that he often switches off his game, making life difficult for himself even against less classy opponents. Zverev understands that he will have to show his best tennis again. But the German is ready for any challenge. After a serious injury suffered in his Roland Garros semi-final match with Rafael Nadal last season, Alexander is rapidly regaining his position in the rankings. He is approaching the peak of his capabilities, moving well, serving powerfully and controlling the pace perfectly. At this tournament Zverev is making the fewest mistakes, dropping at least one set to his opponents in five matches. His serve served poorly against American Francis Tiafoe in the third round. That match ended in four sets with two tie-breaks in 3 hours and 42 minutes. Nevertheless, even in a difficult situation, the German did not allow himself to take the lead. In his last two matches Zverev showed a bright game, but with a clear margin. He defeated the experienced Grigor Dimitrov in three sets, allowing him to take only eight games. Against Thomas Martin Etcheverry in the quarter-finals, he lost his concentration a bit in the second game, but calmly led the way to the final victory 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Despite the gap in the rankings, this is a match of equal opponents. Ruud is aiming to reach the final for the second year in a row. Kasper wants to show how much he has improved since his match against Nadal. The Norwegian shows a good game, but often loses concentration. Alexander Zverev won't forgive such mistakes. The German is on form. Zverev must please his fans and make it to the final.