Tennis professional Casper Ruud has become the first man from Norway who has found his way to the Grand Slam singles final by defeating Marin Cilic, a 2014 U.S. Open champion, by a score of 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 at the French Open on Friday. 

Oslo-born Ruud never managed to progress after the fourth round at any key tennis tournament until now. 

His father, Christian, was a renowned tennis icon who played between 1991 and 2001. 

Ruud has proven several times that he can perform well on the clay court, with an impressive record of titles and 66 match victories since the beginning of 2020. 

Now, the 23-year-old is up against Spain’s Rafael Nadal, a 13-time French Open winner. The two will lock horns in the final fixture on Sunday.

Ruud will be playing against Nadal, who has been his idol since the beginning of his tennis journey. The Norwegian player has previously received training at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Spain. 

On Friday, Ruud returned Cilic’s impressive serve by hitting several aces. In the quarterfinals on Wednesday, Cilic had 33 aces.

During the third set, the fixture was briefly interrupted by a climate change activist for over 10 minutes who tied herself to the net and was seen kneeling on the ground. 

The protestor, who appeared to be associated with French group Derniere Renovation, was seen wearing a t-shirt with the text- “We have 1028 days left.”

Also Read: Coco Gauff, 18, sets up French Open final against world no 1 Iga Swiatek

 “22-year-old Alizée stepped onto the tennis court during the Ruud-Cilic semi-final to draw attention to the climate emergency and the demand for the Last Renovation campaign,” the group wrote on Twitter.

A statement from Alizee was also released on Derniere Renovation’s official website.  

Also Read: How menstrual cramps crushed Zheng Qinwen’s French Open dreams

 “We are in 2022 and it is time to face reality, the world to which politicians are sending us is a world to which Roland Garros will no longer be able to exist. Today, I entered the field because I can no longer take the risk of doing nothing in the face of the climate emergency,” the statement read. 

As Alizee protested, both the players left the court and went to the changing room. After the activist was escorted by security personnel, Rudd returned to the court and defeated Cilic to move to the finals.