Ruud Beats Borges to Reach Paris Semis

Casper Ruud beat lucky loser Nuno Borges 7-6(5), 6-4 on Friday at the Rolex Paris Masters to reach his 11th Masters 1000 semi-final. The Norwegian closed it in 1 hour 34 minutes on Court Central after a week of revenge math: Borges had beaten him 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 in Basel seven days earlier.

Both players finished with 10 aces. Ruud won 68 points to Borges' 65 and needed every one of them. Borges had held all 25 of his main-draw service games before Friday. The opener stayed on serve until a 7-5 tie-break, and the only break of the match came after Ruud saved two break points at 2-3 in the second set.

Tie-Break First, Then the Only Break

Borges held to love at 4-4 and again at 6-6 in the first set. Ruud converted his third set point in the breaker to go up a set. In the second, the Portuguese finally had looks at Ruud's serve. Two break points at 2-3. Ruud saved both, then broke in the next game on his first and only break point of the afternoon and served it out to love at 5-4.

Borges arrived as a lucky loser after falling in qualifying, then beat Moise Kouame, Karen Khachanov, and Ignacio Buse to become the first lucky loser into a Paris Masters quarter-final. The hold streak ended on the same day the run did.

11th Masters Semi, Alcaraz Next

This is Ruud's second Masters 1000 semi of the season after a Rome final and his third on hard courts after Miami and Montreal in 2022. The win lifts him to No. 18 in the live rankings. He opened Paris with wins over Juan Manuel Cerundolo, Rafael Jodar, and Jan-Lennard Struff before Borges.

Next is second seed Carlos Alcaraz, who beat Taylor Fritz 6-7(10), 7-5, 6-3 earlier Friday. Alcaraz leads the head-to-head 6-1. Their semi-final is not before 5:00 p.m. Paris time Saturday on Court Central. The other semi, Luca Van Assche against third seed Ben Shelton, is not before 2:30 p.m. Paris.

Paris Weekend Locked In

Ruud needed the Basel rematch and he got the cleaner version of it. One break after saving two. A first-set breaker instead of a free-fall set. Alcaraz is waiting with a 6-1 ledger, and that is the next problem on the board.

Smacktok pick lean: Lean higher on Ruud first-serve points won against Alcaraz if the indoor serve holds the same shape that saved those two break points. If Ruud's first-serve percentage dips early, do not force the lean.

Revenge in Paris, 11th Masters semi booked, Alcaraz on Saturday night. That is Ruud's Friday.