In the past fortnight Ruud has demonstrated his consistency on the clay.
Ruud had to dig deep to topple Alejandro Davidovich Fokina over five sets, No.28 seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry in four and No.12 seed Taylor Fritz also in four.
It hasn’t been plain sailing, but Ruud has managed to find another gear when it has mattered.
On Friday, the two-time runner-up will hope for a repeat of last year’s semi-final, where he dismantled Zverev 6-3, 6-4, 6-0.
Lean and mean Ruud is ready.
“I know if the opponents want to beat me, they’re going to have to play really good tennis for at least three full sets, and I’m going to try to make it tough for them,” Ruud said after the quarter-finals. “It’s been working well the last two, three years here.
“With my technical game I’m going to try to play heavy and play the kind of clay court tennis that I like playing.
“Physically I’m going to try to be in good shape and make them suffer if I can.”