Casper Ruud upset top seed Novak Djokovic 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 in a thrilling Monte Carlo Masters semi-final on Saturday, exacting revenge in last year’s French Open final to set up a title clash with two-time champion Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Greece’s Tsitsipas beat number two seed Jannik Sinner 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in the first semi-final.
Norway’s Ruud, who had lost to Djokovic in his previous five matches, broke twice early in the first set before the 24-time Grand Slam champion from Serbia hit back strongly in the second.
Ruud, seeded eighth, kept his cool, however, and five unforced errors from Djokovic gave him a 3-0 lead in the deciding set and he wrapped up the victory calmly.
“It’s a day I’ll remember for a long time. Beating a world number one is something I’ve never done,” Ruud said in a post-match interview.
“You know how good these guys are under pressure… he saved so many break points. I was praying he was going to double fault or something. And maybe someone was listening.”
The 2018 Australian Open winner Sinner came back in the second set after losing the first to Tsitsipas. He was leading 4-3 in the deciding set when leg cramps forced him to take a medical timeout.
The 22-year-old Italian continued but was no match for Tsitsipas who won the next three games to secure victory.
“This is the highest level of tennis I’ve ever played,” Tsitsipas said.
“He’s one of the toughest opponents I’ve faced so far… to find a solution when there weren’t many, I’m extremely proud of that.”
The victory over Sinner brought Tsitsipas back into the top 10 of the world rankings after dropping out for the first time since 2019 earlier this year.
