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Ruud into the second round for the second straight year
A pair of #NextGenATP stars made a good start to the year’s second Grand Slam on Sunday, as Norwegian Casper Ruud and Aussie Alexei Popyrin advanced to the second round at Roland Garros.

Ruud dismissed former World No. 10 and 2014 semi-finalist Ernests Gulbis 6-2, 7-6(2), 6-0 in two hours and 13 minutes.

“It was a good match, especially a good start. It was crucial to win the second set, I think. It was tough, that tie-break. I think that broke him a little bit and I gained a lot of confidence and energy after winning the second set and it showed in the third set,” Ruud said. “I didn’t play unreal, but I just made a lot of balls and he was missing more and more. It was a very good start, and a tough second set, but overall I’m very happy with the match.”

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The 20-year-old is into the second round on the Parisian terre battue for the second straight year, having won a five-setter in 2018 against Aussie Jordan Thompson after coming through qualifying. Last year at Roland Garros, Ruud was No. 157 in the ATP Rankings. Now, he’s at a career-high No. 63, having reached his first ATP Tour final on Houston’s red clay earlier this year.

“It’s a very big deal for all the players to play Slams. Last year I played three qualies matches as well, so you also get a bit tired from that,” Ruud said. “It’s much more comfortable to be straight in the main draw and you can focus on your body and be prepared well. Last year I won four matches here, including qualies, so if I would be able to win four matches this year as well I would be very happy.”

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Ruud will next play 29th seed Matteo Berrettini, who beat Spaniard Pablo Andujar 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 in three hours and 28 minutes. The Italian fittingly beat Gulbis last year en route to the third round, his deepest run yet at a Grand Slam.

<a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/alex ... ew'>Alexei Popyrin</a> hits a serve at <a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/ ... ew'>Roland Garros</a>

Popyrin battled past fellow #NextGenATP player Ugo Humbert 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(10), 6-3 in two hours and 52 minutes. It was a strong Roland Garros debut for the 19-year-old Aussie, who reached the third round at the Australian Open in January. He will next face 31st seed Laslo Djere, who beat Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(2).

"Definitely he was very dominant [early on]. He played unbelievable in the first set. I don't think he had many unforced errors at all. I didn't do much wrong, but he was playing really well, and he was holding his serve very, very comfortably," Popyrin said. "But I definitely just stuck with it, concentrated on my serve, tried to get my serve and figuring out a way how to break him in the second set, and I got to do that."

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Popyrin knows what it's like to have the crowd on his side after his impressive run in Melbourne. But he also embraced the French fans supporting Humbert, their own #NextGenATP star.

"I enjoy it. I enjoy playing in front of big crowds no matter if they are for me or against me. Obviously I prefer when they're for me," Popyrin said. "But playing in front of crowds like that, you've just got to keep focused on your game, and that's it."

His next opponent, Djere, has had a breakthrough season, winning his first ATP Tour title in Rio de Janeiro. The 23-year-old Serbian also upset Juan Martin del Potro earlier this month in Madrid.

#NextGenATP Norwegian looking to make his debut in Milan this November
Editor's Note: This story was first published 14 May 2019.

Like father like son has become much more than an adage of late for Casper Ruud, Norway's Next Gen ATP Finals hopeful. It's become a way of playing on the ATP Tour.

The 20-year-old #NextGenATP player reached the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings in March, becoming the first Norwegian to do so since his father, Christian Ruud, in December 1994.

One month later, Casper made his first ATP Tour final at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship in Houston, becoming the second Norwegian ATP Tour finalist after his dad finished runner-up in Bastad in 1995.

Casper, however, is showing signs that he might do more than just match his father's accomplishments. On Monday, the Norwegian qualifier beat Brit Daniel Evans at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome for his first ATP Masters 1000 win (1-3).

"This year is kind of the first year where I felt like I've been really steady throughout many tournaments and many weeks in a row," Casper told ATPTour.com. "I just won my first Masters 1000 match, so of course I'm really happy, but I'm also greedy and trying to go for more."

<a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/casp ... ew'>Casper Ruud</a> beats <a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/dani ... ew'>Daniel Evans</a> on Monday in Rome
Casper Ruud wins his first ATP Masters 1000 win on Monday in Rome. (Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Greed on the court has served Casper well thus far, but the father-son rivalry has hardly been an intense competition. The two have accomplished the goals together, as Dad has coached Casper for most of his life.

“I know that he cares about me and he wants everything in the best way for me. So, of course, he's been a really big part of my success and my team, ever since I was little,” Casper said.

“I'm from a small tennis country, and I don't have too many people to look up to in my home country, except for him. He's the only one who knows how it's been and how the life on the Tour is. I think it's been a huge advantage, even though I'm from Norway, to have my father so close to me and helping me with my tennis.”

The two form a rare sight on the ATP Tour – a former ATP player working with his player relative on a regular basis. Family members have coached players: Uncle Toni Nadal served as his Rafael Nadal's main coach until 2018, and Tessa Shapovalova still coaches her son, #NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov.

But few former players coach their relatives on Tour for a number of reasons, including the fact that many children of pro tennis players go on to pursue other interests or sports.

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Christian introduced Casper to football, hockey, golf and, of course, tennis. He placed a racquet in Casper's hands when he was only one year old and the bucket of balls was taller than him. The two would walk out to the family's court in their tennis garden, where Casper learned how to play. Eventually, though, Casper narrowed his sporting interests to only tennis.

“He was the one that decided at age 11, 'OK, this is what I want to do. I'm more into individual sports than team sports.' Since then it's just been about the tennis,” Christian said.

The family realised Casper might have a future in the sport and worked on a ever-evolving plan to take Casper to highest levels of the ATP Tour. He played Tennis Europe events, but also spent time at home, practising forehands and backhands and working on his fitness in Oslo.

His father, seeing how the game was changing from the '90s, when it favoured more all-around players, to the modern game, which favours players with weapons, especially worked on developing Casper's forehand.

By the time he was 17, Casper was the No. 1 junior in the world. The next year, Casper, 18, was into his first ATP Tour semi-final at the Rio Open presented by Claro, an ATP 500 event. He was just 33 spots from cracking the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings, a milestone achievement for every player.

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But Casper got stuck. For two years, he bounced around Nos. 108 to 205, never breaking into the double digits.

“It's tough to stay focused and stay hungry every single week, especially in my case. I feel like I've been not stuck, but I've been ranked from 110 to 140 for about two years now. And you're just pushing, pushing, pushing to get to that Top 100,” Casper said.

The family made his home training base the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca last August, and Casper, frustrated by not being able to break into the Top 100, confided in his Spanish colleagues – 22-year-old Jaume Munar, who reached the Next Gen ATP Finals semi-finals last year, and veterans Albert Ramos-Vinolas and Pablo Carreno Busta – about how they handled reaching the Top 100. Their advice: It's almost tougher to break into the Top 100 than to stay there, the milestone is that significant.

“You have to keep a high level throughout the year to stay in the Top 100, but the [ATP Challenger Tour] level has been really, really tough the last couple of years. You feel like you can win every week you play, but you also feel like you can lose second or third round or first round,” Casper said. “Everybody on the Challenger Tour wants to make it, and they're really, really hungry and fighting as crazy guys.”

In February, however, Casper made the quarter-finals in Rio and the semi-finals at the Brasil Open in Sao Paulo, and on Monday 4 March 2019, his ATP Ranking was No. 94. “It just feels really good to finally get there,” Casper said.

He is No. 76 this week, and he is projected to rise to at least No. 67, which would be a new career-high, by qualifying and making the second round in Rome. Casper should keep climbing as well as he has only 166 points to defend until October, and he'll spend the next month on clay, his favourite surface and where he's made his best runs.

“I think it just fits my game a bit better... I feel like I can do a lot with my forehand and play heavy spin forehands and this kind of stuff that is more effective on clay than on hard court,” Casper said.

The current #NextGenATP class, led by Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, Denis Shapovalov of Canada and American Frances Tiafoe, features big hitters throughout the group. But Casper sees an opening for someone like him. “I think the NextGen group needs a bit of a clay-court player so maybe I can be that one,” he said.

Follow the ATP Race To Milan

He is currently in sixth place in the ATP Race To Milan, which will determine seven of the eight players who compete in Milan from 5-9 November, with the final spot reserved for a wild card.

“I think it's a fun concept and a great chance for new young players to show their level and compete against each other. I think we're all good friends among the NextGen players. Of course, we're competitors, but we're also getting along,” Casper said. “It's a great atmosphere... So I would really, really enjoy playing there.”

The 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals could be the next big achievement in Casper's constantly-evolving tennis journey.

Casper Ruud can check qualifying for the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan off his 2019 goals list. The 20-year-old Norwegian is set to make his debut at the 21-and-under event, to be held 5-9 November at the Allianz Cloud. Here are five things to know about the right-hander.
1. Tennis is in the family.
Casper Ruud has been playing tennis since he was four years old, when his father, Christian, introduced him to the sport. Christian Ruud played on the ATP Tour, reaching No. 39 in the ATP Rankings, making the 1995 Bastad final and playing in the fourth round of the 1997 Australian Open. Christian also coaches and travels with Casper full-time on Tour now.
“I know that he cares about me and he wants everything in the best way for me. So, of course, he's been a really big part of my success and my team, ever since I was little,” Casper said.
2. They are Norway's first tennis family.
Christian is coaching Casper and his records are pushing his son. Christian is the most accomplished tennis player from Norway, a country known more for its winter sports, such as skiing.
Christian, for instance, is the highest-ranked Norwegian player in ATP Rankings history (since 1973). But Casper is close to catching his dad in some regards. While Casper, with a career-high ATP Ranking of No. 54, is still 15 spots away from tying his dad's mark, Casper made the Houston final in April, matching his father's title match appearance in Bastad.
“I'm from a small tennis country, and I don't have too many people to look up to in my home country, except for him. He's the only one who knows how it's been and how the life on the Tour is. I think it's been a huge advantage, even though I'm from Norway, to have my father so close to me and helping me with my tennis,” Casper said.
3. He has learned from his breakout run in 2017.
Casper was only 17, but at the 2017 Rio Open presented by Claro, he already seemed destined for big things. Ruud, in just his third tour-level event, sprinted to the Rio semi-finals, winning his first three ATP Tour matches at the 500-level event.
He became the youngest semi-finalist on the ATP World Tour since Borna Coric in Basel 2014 and the lowest-ranked player to make a 500-level semi-final since Alexander Zverev (No. 285) in Hamburg in 2014.
Ruud, rightfully, felt happy about his achievement. But, looking back on it, he admits to feeling a little too pleased with the one-week performance.
“I was maybe a bit too happy with playing good that week... I wasn't maybe greedy enough to go for many good weeks in a row,” Ruud said. “Of course, you can be happy and proud over some good wins, but there's always another match, and usually the day after, if you win. You always have to be ready and greedy to get that win.”
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4. He faced Roger Federer in Roland Garros, and the Swiss admitted a weakness ahead of their matchup.
Ruud was playing in his first third round at a Grand Slam, and Federer, who has been on Tour since 1998, conceded a pre-match advantage to the #NextGenATP Norwegian.
“I know probably more about his dad than about him. Even though I never played him, the father,” Federer said. “I know that [Casper has] improved a lot in recent years, and I think he plays very well on the clay. Again, I haven't seen him play a whole lot. But for any 20-year-old to be on the big stage, playing a top guy, on a centre court, that's what you dream of.”
Christian Ruud ended his career at 2001 Roland Garros, the eighth Slam Federer played, and Dad had to have been proud of his son's efforts against Federer. Casper had a set point in the third set before falling 6-3, 6-1, 7-6(8).
5. He will make his Milan debut.
For two years, Ruud has been eying the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan. But this year, he'll make his debut and get to play alongside the game's best 21-and-under players. “This year is kind of the first year where I felt like I've been really steady throughout many tournaments and many weeks in a row,” he said. “I'm really happy, but I'm also greedy and trying to go for more.”