Casper Ruud celebrates Norwegian Constitution Day ahead of Holger Rune rematch in Rome
The former world No. 2 was feeling patriotic after reaching a third career Internazionali BNL d’Italia semifinal, and aims to bring that energy into a rematch with his Danish rival.
WATCH: Ruud has rounded into form after a slow start to his 2023 season, edging into his first Masters 1000 semifinal of the year.
the result coincided with his country’s annual Constitution Day.
“Today we celebrate the day we got our constitution,” the former world No. 2 wrote on Instagram. “The day that eventually made Norway completely independent.”
The holiday dates back to 1814, when Norway’s constitution was signed on the 17th of May to declare its independence from Sweden in the midst of the Napoleonic Wars.
It was with this indomitable spirit that Ruud, the top-ranked tennis player in his country’s history, turned around a tough start to 2023 by reaching his third career semifinal at the Foro Italico.
Ruud has dropped just one set in four matches, edging past No. 24 seed Francisco Cerundolo in a rematch of their 2022 Miami Open semifinal to book a highly-anticipated clash with Danish rival Holger Rune, who is fresh off a second straight victory over world No. 1 Novak Djokovic.
Though the two-time Grand Slam finalist owns a 4-0 head-to-head over Rune, the two will face off for the first time since their contentious Roland Garros quarterfinal—one that yielded a slew of memorable post-match headlines and wild locker room accusations that Ruud wished had been conveyed during his episode of Netflix’s Break Point.
“I honestly wish for the next part of the season and for next season, as well, that they will document a little bit more of what the draw looks like, and if there’s some fun matches where there’s history between players,” he said back in Indian Wells.
Regardless of whether the Netflix cameras are up in Rome, expect some rockets red glare and bombs bursting in air between the two Scandanavian gladiators.