Novak Djokovic vs Casper Ruud: Their 6 previous matches ahead of French Open showdown

Novak Djokovic and Casper Ruud will meet for the seventh time in the quarter-finals at the 2024 French Open in a rematch of last year’s Roland Garros final.

The Serbian leads the head-to-head 5-1 overall and 3-1 on clay, while Ruud won the pair’s most recent encounter in Monte Carlo earlier this year.

There is much intrigue ahead of this matchup given Ruud’s clay-court form and the fact Djokovic spent over nine hours on court in beating Lorenzo Musetti and Francisco Cerundolo in his last two matches.

Ahead of their French Open showdown, we look back at Djokovic and Ruud’s previous six encounters.

2020 Italian Open SF: Djokovic d. Ruud 7-5, 6-3

The duo faced off for the first time in the semi-finals at the 2020 Italian Open, which was staged in September rather than its usual slot in May, having been rescheduled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Djokovic was the world No 1, while Ruud was unseeded and playing in the last four of an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time. The Serbian prevailed 7-5, 6-3 after a close opening set, before going on to beat Diego Schwartzman to claim his fifth Rome crown.

2021 ATP Finals RR: Djokovic d. Ruud 7-6(4), 6-2

Djokovic and Ruud met in the round robin stage of the 2021 ATP Finals in Turin, and it followed a similar pattern to their first clash.

The Serbian took a tight first set on a tiebreak, before sealing a convincing 7-6(4), 6-2 victory over the Norwegian. Djokovic and Ruud both progressed from the group, but were beaten in the semi-finals by Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev respectively.

2022 Italian Open SF: Djokovic d. Ruud 6-4, 6-3

The pair played in the last four at the Italian Open for the second time at the 2022 edition of the clay-court Masters event at the Foro Italico.

Djokovic, who was the top seed, broke serve four times and lost his own serve just once to earn a routine 6-4, 6-3 triumph against the fifth-seeded Ruud. He then claimed a sixth title in Rome by downing Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.

2022 ATP Finals F: Djokovic d. Ruud 7-5, 6-3

Djokovic and Ruud clashed at the year-end championships in Turin for the second straight season in 2022, with the Serbian seeded seventh and the Norwegian seeded third.

This time they met in the final and it proved to be another comfortable victory for Djokovic as he did not face a break point in an impressive 7-5, 6-3 win. It was the tennis legend’s sixth triumph at the ATP Finals.

2023 French Open F: Djokovic d. Ruud 7-6(1), 6-3, 7-5

Djokovic and Ruud met in a Grand Slam for the first time in the final of the 2023 French Open in their biggest match to date. They were seeded third and fourth respectively.

Ruud produced his best performance in a ‘big final’ so far as he pushed Djokovic hard in an opening set he led 4-1, before losing it in a tiebreak.

Djokovic was ultimately too strong again, though, as he triumphed 7-6(1), 6-3, 7-5 in a competitive title match to claim his third Roland Garros crown and take his record against Ruud to 11-0 in sets.

2024 Monte Carlo Masters SF: Ruud d. Djokovic 6-4, 1-6, 6-4

At this year’s Monte Carlo Masters in April, Ruud not only won a set against Djokovic for the first time, but claimed his maiden victory over the 24-time Grand Slam champion.

The eighth seed prevailed 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 against the world No 1 to earn the biggest win of his career. The Norwegian held his nerve in the deciding set after he was pegged back to 4-4 having led 4-1.

Ruud, a three-time Grand Slam runner-up, was beaten by Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final of the Masters 1000 tournament.

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