– Really impressive – VG

– He trains at (Rafael) Nadal’s academy, and they have an equal way of playing. He plays with a lot of spin, and his forehand is really impressive, the 33-year-old said about Ruud in Eurosport’s broadcast.

Djokovic said that the wind was challenging, but that the Norwegian’s playing pattern also created problems. The Serb appreciated that the audience was back in the arena, and was happy to have overcome the opponent from Norway.

– It was a tough match through two sets, and the match lasted for over two hours. I had to fight for most of the points and the first set could have gone both ways, he said.

Christian Ruud thought Novak Djokovic could get a surprise in a meeting with his son, Casper Ruud. And it was a shaken world champion who had to defend two set balls from Ruud at the position 4-5 in the first set.

The Norwegian impressed a lot on the gravel in Rome, and led at most 3-5 in the game. In almost one hour of play, Ruud was in favor in the first set, and not until the end did the star player from Serbia manage to turn it to his advantage.

– It feels sickly brutal that it is not Ruud who takes the first set, the experts in Eurosport’s studio thought.

– It’s an absolutely fantastic first set by Casper. It takes the crudest from Djokovic to win it, commented Ola Bentzen.

Djokovic was occasionally frustrated throughout the match. In the quarterfinals he broke a racket, and in the semifinals against Ruud there was both an argument with the referee and a loud roar several times.

– You are unbelievable! thundered it from Djokovic when the referee ruled advantage Ruud in a point in the second set – and the TV pictures showed that the Serb probably had a good case.

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– Almost like seeing Federer!

31 degrees Celsius are brutal conditions, but both Ruud and Djokovic fought heroically through the battle in the hot pot in the Italian capital.

Ruud also kept up with wonderful details, such as when he put in a volley with his back to Djokovic. The battle got a thumbs up from the world champion.

– It’s almost like seeing Federer out here! exclaimed Bentzen in excitement from the commentator booth.

Ruud also gave Djokovic a good match through the second set, but at the position 3-2, the 33-year-old broke the Norwegian’s serve. The task of catching the lead became too difficult, but Ruud showed strength by keeping away for two match balls.

The Serb still proved a few notches too strong towards the end of the match, and won the second set 6-3.

This is the tenth time Djokovic has reached the final of the Masters 1000 tournament in Rome. He meets either Denis Shapovalov or Diego Schwartzman in the final.

Casper Ruud is ranked number 34 in the world, but will probably crawl into the top 30 after the loss against Djokovic. The Norwegian has delivered sensational play throughout the tournament, beating world number eight Matteo Berrettini on the way to the semifinals. according to ATP-tour he has recorded over 5.3 million Norwegian kroner this season.

Brilliant career

Djokovic has been at the top of the world rankings since February this year, and has not been out of the top three since August 2018.

The Serb is the third most winning tennis player of all time on the men’s side with 17 victories, and is only three Grand Slam titles behind leading Roger Federer. Djokovic is six years younger than the Swiss and has good opportunities to register as number one in tennis history.

Together with Rafael Nadal, Djokovic and Federer have dominated the tennis world for a long time.