How Casper Ruud beat Nicolas Jarry at the French Open

Casper Ruud dealt with Jarry’s power really well:

The big Chilean once again showed that he had one of the bigger serves and forehands on Tour by badgering Ruud with his powerful strokes. However, to his credit, the Norwegian defended extremely well by moving sideways quite adroitly.

Jarry kept pounding Ruud’s backhand with his inside-out forehand and then finished points with crosscourt forehands from the deuce court. On a few other occasions, he won points through the one-two combination of his serve and forehand.

However, Ruud showed exactly why it has been inscribed on the stands of Roland Garros that the victory belongs to the most tenacious by almost always making his opponent play that extra ball.

Jarry threw away a couple of sets from advantageous positions:

Despite Ruud’s brilliant defending, Jarry had himself to blame, too, for wasting leads in the last couple of sets. First he threw away a 4-1 lead to lose the second set and then he wasted a 4-2 lead in the third.

On both occasions, Ruud’s tenacity helped him gain command of the proceedings. The Norwegian played a few wonderful defensive lobs to keep the ball in play, as Jarry blasted it wide on the next shot.

Moreover, Jarry’s decision-making was also not up to the mark at times, as he once hit his volley to the net after opting for serve-and-volley on a crucial point in the second set. Moreover, the big Chilean’s second serve could not match his first, as he won only 44% of the points on his second delivery.

Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports