Rain, a 6-1 reversal, and a Ruud reset: Norwegian into Rome semi-final just in time to boost confidence before Roland-Garros
Casper Ruud (No 13) reached a first Rome semi-final since 2023 with a rain-interrupted 6-1, 1-6, 6-2 win over Karen Khachanov (No 14). The clay-court Norwegian returns to the top 20 and arrives in semi-final form a fortnight before Roland-Garros – fourth Rome semi-final, 10th Masters 1000 semi-final, eight of them on dirt.
Casper Ruud, Rome 2026 | © Foto FITP
Norwegian No. 13 seed Casper Ruud reached his first Rome ATP Masters 1000 semi-final since 2023 with a 6-1, 1-6, 6-2 win over Russian No. 14 seed Karen Khachanov in the quarter-finals on Campo Centrale, the 27-year-old grinding his way through a match interrupted by rain and a complete reversal of form to set up a semi-final encounter at the Foro Italico he last reached three years ago.
Ruud was untouchable in the first set. After a long opening game that went to several deuces, he found his range, broke twice, and ran out the closing games to or close to love. Then the rain came at the start of the second, and when play resumed everything had flipped. Khachanov produced a near-mirror of the opening set: two breaks, a 5-0 lead, an almost flawless 6-1. The pre-interruption Ruud had vanished.
The third set turned on who could reset faster, and it was the Norwegian. Ruud held to love to open, broke twice for 4-0, then absorbed a Khachanov mini-revival – one break back, one hold to 4-2 – before holding to love again and breaking once more to close it out on his second match point.
10th Masters 1000 semi-final
It is Ruud’s fourth Rome semi-final and his 10th at ATP Masters 1000 level, eight of those on clay. The Norwegian has not reached a Masters 1000 semi-final since winning Madrid last May. His clay record at this stage of Masters events now stands at 8-2.
The timing matters. Ruud, who fell out of the top 20 on 4 May for the first time in nearly five years, will return to the top 20 with this win, and arrives at Roland-Garros in a fortnight in his best clay form of the season.
Ruud reflected on the journey to a fourth Rome semi-final, and on what his three previous attempts have taught him. “I had two losses here to Novak in the past. Once against Holger Rune. Hopefully fourth time is the charm and not the third,” he said after the match. “Looking back, I had a few chances in the last one against Holger. I was up a set and maybe a break. But he really stepped up and came back in that match.”
He turned to the players absent from this year’s draw. “Unfortunately none of them are my next opponent, in a way, because they’re both great players and they’re fun to play against. Holger we know is soon to come back, I want to wish him a speedy recovery. Hopefully he’ll be back soon. And Novak is Novak. So I don’t play any of them tomorrow, but no matter who it is, I’ll be ready for a really tough match.”
Ruud will face the winner of the night session quarter final Jodar – Darderi in his section in the semi-finals.
