Ruud Repels Khachanov for Fourth Rome SF
By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, May 13, 2026
Photo credit: Internazionali BNL d’Italia Facebook
Seeing Casper Ruud chasing down a lob with his back to the net, Karen Khachanov had the Norwegian right where he wanted him.
Then Ruud conjured shotmaking magic to run Khachanov right out of Rome.
A wondrous Ruud tweener extended the point and he ended it with a precise forehand pass that eluded Khachanov.
That third-set sequence helped Ruud conquer Khachanov 6-1, 1-6, 6-2 to advance to his fourth Rome semifinal.
Even when Khachanov played over his head, Ruud responded with some creative answers on the red clay.
The victory vaults Ruud back to the Top 20 in the ATP Live Rankings and into the semifinals against either 32nd-seeded Spaniard Rafael Jodar or 18th-seeded Italian Luciano Darderi.
Though he arrived in the Eternal City ranked No. 25, former world No. 2 Ruud believes he’s a better player now than he was reaching three Grand Slam finals.
“It’s funny because when I’m standing here today with the ranking that I have, which is worse than what I
have been, I feel like I’m a better player than what I was two, three, four years ago,” Ruud told the media in Rome. “Ranking doesn’t always kind of reflect on how you feel on court. That’s okay.”
This run to the Rome final four is Ruud’s best ATP Masters 1000 result since he won Madrid last year.
“I’m also realistic, realizing I lost a few matches that maybe I shouldn’t have lost and didn’t want to lose this year, where maybe I didn’t do the years where I was top 10, top 5 in the world,” Ruud said. “Quality of tennis is just rising and rising. Even though I feel like I’ve upped my level since two, three, four years ago, other players have done the same, or even more so.
“They have a better curve than myself. There’s nothing wrong with that. I just have to accept it and keep working hard.”
The 27-year-old Ruud managed tough moments today with bold play. In addition to hammering his trademark topspin forehand into the corners, Ruud sometimes surprised Khachanov smacking his two-handed backhand down the line to open the court.
On a damp day creating heavy court conditions, Ruud was ripping forehands averaging 85 mph, according to Tennis Channel stats, in roaring to that 4-1 lead.
The Ruud backhand down the line was a big weapon as well opening the court and sometimes even finishing points.
Bolting a backhand down the line, Ruud raced in throwing down a smash for triple break point. When Khachanov scattered a forehand off the top of the tape that fell wide, Ruud broke again for a 5-1 lead.
Serving for the set, Ruud closed in statement style. Cracking a clean crosscourt forehand winner for triple set point, Ruud rocketed an ace down the T to close the 32-minute set with command.
Khachanov held to start the second set then the shower intensified into persistent rain prompting play to be suspended after 40 minutes.
After about a two-hour rain delay, the pair returned to the court with the sun finally peaking through.
That’s when Khachanov brought the thunder. Amping up the pace on his groundstrokes and driving the ball closer to the lines, Khachanov completely flipped the script in the second set.
The former Rolex Paris Masters champion was the one dictating rallies in the second set seizing a 4-0 double-break lead.
Khachanov crunched a backhand down the line capping a love hold for 5-0.
Serving to force a final set, Khachanov slashed successive aces to seal the second set on a run of 10 consecutive service points won.
A topsy-turvy match took another drastic turn as Ruud roared out to a 4-0 lead in the decider.
That surge was highlighted by Ruud’s remarkable tweener-forehand pass combination that helped him gain break point in the fourth game. Ruud rolled a backhand pass down the line breaking again for 4-0.
Credit Khachanov for continuing the fight. The bearded Russian broke back at love then saved a break point to hold for 2-4.
Ruud recalled Jimmy Connors’ Flushing Meadows win over Paul Haarhuis when he ran down three smashes in a row continuously lofting back defensive lobs until Khachanov bungled a final smash to face triple match point. On his second match point, Ruud ended a one hour, 41-minute victory that was really a match of three distinctly different acts.
Ruud rides a 16-9 record in 2026 into his first semifinal of the season.
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