Ruud one win from main draw

“It’s been two good matches, four good sets, I haven’t dropped one yet. It was a big test today, especially the last one,” Ruud said of the 6-2 6-4 victory. “I felt it was almost over when I had 4-1 and a double break. But he fought back and played some good points but I also stepped up my level at the end.”

The teenager made his Grand Slam debut at this year’s Australian Open, where he reached the second round. While it came on a different surface, the result only bolstered Ruud’s belief that was where he belonged.

“When it’s a Grand Slam, it’s a bit different for all the players, especially with me, where I’m used to playing Challengers, it’s quite a big difference,” he said. “I think a lot of those in qualifying are in the same situation, dying to make the main draw.”

The Norwegian will face Frenchman Alexandre Muller for a place in the main draw.

Meanwhile, a win over Novak Djokovic on clay last month couldn’t have come at a better time as the perfect catalyst for a Martin Klizan resurgence.

That career-best result over the former world No.1 was reward for the long road back after six months out of the game rebuilding a torn calf muscle.

Continuing his comeback in second-round qualifying action at Roland-Garros on Wednesday, the former world No.24 found himself staring down the highly touted 18-year-old Miomir Kecmanovic – the youngest Serb since Djokovic to crack the top 200.

And for a set and a half it looked as though Klizan was about to be knocked off the Cloud 9 he was floating on after his Djokovic-slaying run to the quarter-finals in Barcelona.

There was a spark in his opponent’s game that did not go unnoticed by the more experienced Slovak.

“I was a very tough match. This guy is very young and has a good perspective. I didn’t expect that fight but he was playing great,” Klizan said.

“I was down 6-7, 1-4 and he was serving 40-0 so I was almost on the plane. I think if he’s going to continue working hard he’s going to be a great player for sure.”

Eventually it was Klizan who ground out a 6-7(1) 7-6(5) 6-3 result, much to the delight of his raucous fan base in the stands on Court 6.

Now just one match win from contesting his seventh straight Roland-Garros main draw, Klizan’s excitement was palpable given the injury he had nursed for more than a year.

“Half this year I was out injured. It was a very tough time for me to come back,” he said. “In Barcelona I played great matches and that gave me a lot of confidence and it showed me that my hard work was worth it.

“I had worked constantly well without any issues so it showed me this was a good way to play and to practise and to continue.”

In another result, Australian former world No.17 Bernard Tomic continued his revival on his least-preferred surface, posting his sixth straight win on clay.

The 25-year-old was on song throughout an imposing 6-3 6-1 victory over Brit Jay Clarke and comes off a straight-sets routing of Darian King in the opening round.

Tomic won four matches to reach the recent clay-court Challenger final in Aix-en-Provence. The final, which he lost to compatriot John Millman, was contested on an indoor hard court due to persistent rain.