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Casper Ruud is back on track

Norwegian produces inspired performance to defeat Medjedovic

Casper Ruud, Roland-Garros 2026, second round
©Pierre Froger / FFT
 - Chris Oddo

Casper Ruud was very close to joining the walking wounded two days ago. Depleted of all his energy during a grueling first-round tussle with Roman Safiullin on Court Simonne-Mathieu, the two-time Roland-Garros finalist failed to convert five match points in the third set and had to dig deep to survive in five. 

In Ruud’s own words he was “really tired and walking around like a zombie,” doing whatever he could to survive the four-hour battle.

Based on his performance on Wednesday against dangerous Serbian Hamad Medjedovic, zombie days are over. Ruud was crisp, lively and efficient as he steered past the world No.58 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to book his spot in the third round.

"I was close to going home already," Ruud told the crowd. "But I'm still here.

"I had time to recover after a couple of days ago. I felt good on the court, and I feel after the first round I have nothing to lose... Getting past that first round sometimes can be the key to having a good tournament."

I hope I can extend my stay for a few more days - maybe a week or so

After winning 17 of 20 matches on the Parisian clay from 2022 to 2024 – a run that included two runner-up performances and a semifinal – Ruud was knocked out in the second round by Portugal’s Nuno Borges last year. 

A potential upset in the making in round one, Ruud's transformation over the last few days has him looking more like a prime candidate to emerge from the lower half of the men’s singles draw. 

The 27-year-old certainly has the pedigree on the terre battue. Wednesday’s win improves Ruud’s lifetime record to 26-8 in Paris, and sets up a third-round encounter with American Tommy Paul. 

"This tournament has given me a lot of joy, as a fan when I was younger and as a player in the last eight or nine years," he said. "I really enjoy my time here and hope I can extend my stay for a few more days - maybe a week or so."

Ruud saved all seven break points he faced, and converted four breaks of his own, frustrating the 22-year-old with timely tennis. Most important, he needed just over two hours to get the win.

Medjedovic tried his best to break the concentration of the Norwegian, throwing in an underarm serve in the second set (he missed an easy forehand to lose the point and was broken) and tossing up a series of moonballs in the third (he finished the point with a sizzling forehand winner but still lost the game).

With Ruud about to serve for the match at 5-4, a Mexican wave broke out around the fabled Court Suzanne-Lenglen. The crowd wanted more tennis. Ruud had other ideas.