Casper Ruud

[Damian]

[Damian]

Ruud Levels Norway-Chile ATP Cup Tie On Day 5

Casper Ruud had claimed his second No. 1 singles win of ATP Cup when he defeated Cristian Garin to level the Group A tie. The World No. 8 backed up an earlier group win over Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Garin, in which he won 82 percent of first-serve points and saved the three break points he faced against the World No. 17.

“It was a tough match and sometimes the score lies and it’s much tougher than it seems,” Ruud said. “There were some close games at the beginning of the second set that probably decided the set. When you play long games and lose you feel like you have a mountain to climb. When you win them you feel like you are on the downhill again.

“I’ve lost to him a couple of times before [both on clay in 2019] so it’s nice to get my first win against him.”

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[Bombardiero]

[Bombardiero]

[Bombardiero]

Trening, trening, trening!

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[Nando]

[Damian]

Ruud: 'I Still Feel I’m A Little Behind The Really Top Guys'

Spoiler:

World No. 8 targets his first Grand Slam quarter-final in Melbourne
Casper Ruud is aiming to close the gap on the world’s Top 3 in 2022 – and the first step would be reaching his first Grand Slam quarter-final at the Australian Open.

Ruud had his best result at a major in Melbourne 12 months ago when he defeated Jordan Thompson, Tommy Paul and Radu Albot to make the fourth round before being forced to retire with an abdominal injury against Andrey Rublev.

But although he went on to capture an incredible five Tour-level titles, break into the Top 10 and qualify for the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals, Ruud did not see the Grand Slam results he wanted in the remainder of the 2021 season, going a combined 3-3 at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open.

“For me, Grand Slams this year will be the tournaments where I feel I have the most to improve, because last year I did well here but the three other ones, I wasn’t able to do as well as I hoped,” Ruud admitted.

By making the last 16 in Melbourne, Ruud equalled the career-best Grand Slam result achieved by his father Christian. But the 23-year-old, who begins his Australian Open campaign against Alex Molcan on Tuesday, has his eye on more.

“I’ve been asked about my goals for this season and I think I’ve said it a couple of times, that a quarterfinal in a Grand Slam is what I’m hoping for,” Ruud revealed.

“I hope I can achieve it in this year and I would obviously love to do it here in Melbourne where I had actually the most success of my Grand Slam career. That would be, of course, fun to beat [my father’s] record, I’ve been able to tie it. Like I said, this year the goal for me has been to do better in the Grand Slams so I hope I can be able to achieve a quarter-final.”

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Ruud’s exceptional 2021 season saw him spending more and more time in the rarefied air of the world’s best players: He played eight matches against Top 5 opponents over the course of the season.

“I think that even though I was able to break into the Top 10 last year and have my best year on Tour, I still feel like I’m a little bit behind the really top guys. Djokovic, Medvedev, Zverev, they are a bit on a different level, I think,” Ruud reflected.

“I’ve been able to play them a couple of times and I don’t feel like I’ve been too close, unfortunately. Of course, the scorelines have been close here and there, the first time I played Novak I had a couple of set points in the first set back in 2020, but I still feel they are on a bit of a different level. And I wish, of course, that I can reach that level myself but it’s a good indication that I need to keep working hard…

“But I think we’re all eager to catch up and challenge them for the bigger titles in the coming years and if we look at the big picture, in the next 15, 20 years I think we will have more people and players that will be able to win Grand Slams and challenge each other to win Grand Slams and the biggest titles on Tour.”

Ruud didn’t just see top players across the net last year. Having practiced with Rafael Nadal at his academy in Mallorca in the past, in 2021 the Norwegian joined the exclusive club of qualifiers for the season-ending championships in Turin and shared a Laver Cup bench with Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas.

“I didn’t know all of them too well before Laver Cup, some of them I’d been practicing a little bit more with and all these things,” Ruud remembered.

“But I got a little bit closer to Sascha [Zverev] and Stef [Tsitsipas], I was talking a little bit more to them off court and when we were on the bench. All of them are nice guys but I hadn’t been playing or practicing with them too much from before so it was nice to get to know them and see what they do both on and off the court when they want to perform at the highest levels. It gives inspiration and motivation to keep working. And also knowing that what we are doing in my team is working out well but there are still room for improvements.”

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[Bombardiero]

[Bombardiero]

[Bombardiero]

[Lucas]

Ruud’s Return: Casper Ruud withdrew from the Australian Open after an ankle twist just before the event. His only previous action this season came at the ATP Cup, where he posted a 2-1 record for Norway, including a win over Cristian Garin. He’ll face Roberto Carballes Baena or a qualifier in his first match.

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[Kamileki]

[Damian]

[Damian]

Returning BA Champ Ruud Wins In First Match Since ATP Cup

Spoiler:

Casper Ruud made a successful return to action on Wednesday following an ankle injury that forced his late withdrawal from the Australian Open. Playing his first match since the ATP Cup, the 23-year-old Norwegian defeated Roberto Carballes Baena, 7-6(2), 6-3, in Buenos Aires.

Ruud won his first ATP title as the eighth seed at the 2020 Argentina Open, and enters this year as the World No. 8. The top seed extended his perfect record to 6-0 at the event with the win over Carballes Baena.

“It was a good start. First time playing on clay in six months, so everything is a bit new again,” he said post-match. “Of course I prefer to play on clay, but it takes some time to get used to the court and playing points.”

Now with six ATP titles to his name, including five in 2021, Ruud is attempting to back up his maiden trophy. (He did not play the 2021 Buenos Aires event, won by Diego Schwartzman, the second seed this year.)

“I feel, obviously, very good in Buenos Aires. I was a bit nervous coming back because it’s the first time I have to defend a title,” he said, before thanking the fans for their support.

“Everything is a bit different since two years ago. When I won here it was a surprise. I was young.”

Ruud will face Federico Coria in the quarter-finals, after the Argentine scored a comeback 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 victory over fifth seed Dusan Lajovic.

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[Barty]

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[Damian]

[Damian]

The Norwegian overcame the windy conditions and Argentine Federico Coria 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 33 minutes to book his place in his first tour-level semi-final of the season.

“It was very difficult with the weather,” Ruud said in his on-court interview. “It was not typical weather for Buenos Aires but more like Norwegian weather. On days like this, it is not easy to find your perfect game, so you have to play point by point, building the points. I think I was able to do that well and I am very happy to come through.”

Ruud has fond memories in Buenos Aires, having lifted the trophy at the ATP 250 event on his debut in 2020. In a dominant performance, the World No. 8 moved well throughout against Coria to improve to 2-0 in their ATP Head2Head series. Ruud won their only other meeting in the final in Gstaad last July.

The 23-year-old is aiming to capture his seventh tour-level crown this week, after enjoying a standout 2021 season, when he triumphed five times on the ATP Tour. With his victory, Ruud is now 7-0 at the clay-court tournament in Buenos Aires.

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