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asper Ruud has never been far from the big stage in 2022.

The Norwegian star has regularly hit new milestones at the most high-profile events across a stellar season on the ATP Tour. A pair of Grand Slam finals, a maiden ATP Masters 1000 championship match and three tour-level titles headline this year's achievements for one of the most destructive ballstrikers in the game.

As he returns to compete at the Nitto ATP Finals for the second consecutive year, ATPTour.com runs down the key moments in the Norwegian’s road to Turin and gauges the 2021 semi-finalist’s thoughts on his past experience at the prestigious season finale.

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ALL THE WAY IN B.A.
Ruud moved to 9-0 record in Buenos Aires with title run
A rolled ankle disrupted the opening weeks of Ruud’s 2022 season as he was forced to miss the Australian Open, but the Norwegian got back to business in style in Buenos Aires in February, when he clinched his second Argentina Open title for the loss of just one set.

“It’s been an unbelievable week," said Ruud after defeating local boy Diego Schwartzman 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 for his seventh ATP Tour title. "To come back here and try to defend the title not from last year but from two years ago has been a challenge, and I enjoyed every minute of it.”

The triumph at the ATP 250 event represented a strong start to the season for a player who had established himself as one of the most consistent players on Tour in 2021, and the 23-year-old cited his Buenos Aires run as the perfect springboard for further success.

“It means a lot," said Ruud, "I think this is the perfect start and it will give me confidence for the rest of the season and also for the next weeks when I am here in South America.”

MOVIN' ON UP IN MIAMI
Ruud reached maiden ATP Masters 1000 final in south Florida
Ruud has plenty of clay-court success to look back on, but it was on the hard courts of the Miami Open presented by Itau that he made a significant ATP Masters 1000 breakthrough in March. The Norwegian charged to his maiden final at that level with a commanding run of victories under the Florida sun. The only player to push him to three sets en route was former Miami finalist Alexander Zverev.

“It was not where I imagined myself playing my first Masters 1000 final, but I will take it,” said Ruud, whose three previous semi-finals at that level had all come on clay, after defeating Francisco Cerundolo 6-4, 6-1 in the last four. “It is a great feeling. I am standing here smiling… I started a little shaky, but I was able to pull through and raise my level when I really needed to.”

The red-hot Carlos Alcaraz ultimately proved too strong in the final, prevailing 7-5, 6-4, but the newly crowned champion later noted how Ruud’s ability to dictate matches with his power was becoming an increasingly potent weapon on Tour.

"I knew that Casper is playing unbelievable,” said Alcaraz. “He has a big forehand. I tried to play to his backhand first and attack all the time. I tried not to let him dominate the match.”


Ruud triumphs in Buenos Aires.
Ruud triumphs in Buenos Aires. Photo: Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images.


Ruud in action in Miami.
Ruud in action in Miami. Photo: Peter Staples/ATP Tour.



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Ruud lifts the trophy in Geneva. Photo: Gabriel Monnet/AFP via Getty.


Ruud in Rome.
Ruud fires his forehand in Rome. Photo: Peter Staples/ATP Tour.


Ruud reaches his maiden Grand Slam final at Roland Garros.
Ruud reaches his maiden Grand Slam final at Roland Garros. Photo: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP via Getty.



COOL ON CLAY
Ruud found his top form in Rome & Geneva
By his own lofty standards, Ruud made a relatively subdued start to his European clay-court season, but the 23-year-old was back to his free-flowing best on the red dirt by May and the Internazionali BNL d'Italia. It took a dialled-in Novak Djokovic to stop the Norwegian in the semi-finals in Rome, where the Serbian claimed a straight-sets victory to complete 1000 career tour-level wins.

Reaching his fifth Masters 1000 semi-final in the Italian capital appeared to have given Ruud an even greater confidence boost as he headed to Switzerland to defend his Gonet Geneva Open title. The second seed saw off Benoit Paire, Thanasi Kokkinakis and Reilly Opelka in straight sets before edging Joao Sousa in a deciding-set tie-break to lift his eighth ATP Tour title.

Ruud was forced to recover from a break down in the third set before completing his dramatic 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(1) win against Sousa, as the Norwegian again demonstrated his ability to hold his nerve at crucial moments.

“It was one of the craziest matches that I have ever played,” said Ruud after his three-hour, one-minute victory. “It was a lot of up and down. Sousa was close to winning and then suddenly everything turns around and this is tennis. It is always tough for the player who is not winning.”

IN THE MIX AT THE MAJORS
23-year-old battled to maiden Grand Slam final at Roland Garros
Ruud couldn’t have asked for a more emotionally charged start to his Roland Garros campaign. He held firm for a dramatic four-set win against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final match of the Frenchman’s storied professional career, the Norwegian was almost as lavish in his praise for the Frenchman as the adoring crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier.

“It’s tough for me and all the players that you’re stopping. You’ve been an inspiration to me and so many of the other players, so thank you for the memories,” said Ruud to Tsonga in his on-court interview. The retiring Tsonga would certainly have been impressed by what his final opponent went on to produce in a bruising fortnight in Paris.

Ruud went the distance with Lorenzo Sonego in the third round before ousting Hubert Hurkacz, Holger Rune and Marin Cilic in hard-hitting four-setters to power his way to his maiden Grand Slam final, where he would face childhood idol Rafael Nadal. Despite falling to a straight-sets defeat as the Spaniard registered a record-extending 14th crown at the clay-court Grand Slam, the first Norwegian man to reach a major final was proud to have made his mark on tennis history.

“Of course, I wish I could make the match closer, but at the end of the day I can hopefully one day tell my grandkids that I played Rafa on Chatrier in the final,” reflected Ruud. “They will probably say, ‘Wow, did you?’ I will say, 'Yes'. I'm probably going to enjoy this moment for a long time.”


Ruud in action in Gstaad.
Ruud in action in Gstaad. Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty.

SOMETHING ABOUT SWITZERLAND
Ruud maintained unbeaten Tour record in European nation with Gstaad title
Two months after his success in Geneva, Ruud returned to Switzerland to defend his title at the EFG Swiss Open Gstaad. The top-seeded Norwegian did not drop a set en route to a championship match clash against Matteo Berrettini at the ATP 250 event in the heart of the European Alps.

In an intriguing battle of two heavy-duty forehands, it was Ruud who pulled away in the deciding set to clinch his ninth ATP Tour title with a 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-2 victory. The run improved Ruud’s tour-level record in Switzerland to 16-0, and he later admitted he was starting to regard the country as something of a home away from home.

“I think Switzerland is a country with a lot of history now in tennis, winning a lot of Grand Slams with Roger [Federer] and Stan [Wawrinka] the last 18 or 19 years," said Ruud. "So it’s been an inspiration to everyone around the world, including myself, that they are able to come from a small country, sort of like Norway. Everything about Switzerland reminds me a little bit about Norway.”

The switch to North American hard courts in late summer did nothing to halt Ruud’s charge in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin. In August, he marched to his third ATP Masters 1000 semi-final of the year in Montreal at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers, as Ruud continued to perform with confidence on the biggest stages on Tour.

FIVE-WAY FACE-OFF IN FLUSHING
Norwegian came within one win of World No. 1 at US Open
Ruud arrived in New York for the US Open at No. 7 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, but he was one of five players with a shot at finishing the hard-court Grand Slam as World No. 1. Over the course of the first six rounds at Flushing Meadows, Rafael Nadal, Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas all fell by the wayside in the hunt for top spot. Ruud and Carlos Alcaraz did not.

Ruud’s run to his second Grand Slam final was not without its tense moments. He needed five sets to see off home favourite Tommy Paul in the third round, but he underlined his title credentials with an impressive straight-sets semi-final win against former semi-finalist Matteo Berrettini before holding off Karen Khachanov to set a championship match showdown against Alcaraz on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

In the first Grand Slam men’s final in history to feature two players competing for both their first major title and the World No. 1 ranking, teenage star Alcaraz ultimately prevailed in four sets. Just as he had at Roland Garros, however, Ruud only viewed his defeat as extra motivation for the future as he rose to a career-high No. 2 in Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

“I think it's deserving that after great results, both of us having good results throughout the year, we are 1 and 2 in the rankings tomorrow,” said the 23-year-old afterwards. “I'm very proud of being No. 2. In a way it's a good thing because I can still chase the last spot.”


Ruud defends his title in Gstaad.
Ruud defends his title in Gstaad. Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty.


Ruud takes on Alcaraz in the US Open final.
Ruud takes on Alcaraz in the US Open final. Photo: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour.



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Ruud defeats Andrey Rublev in Turin, 2021.


Ruud at the 2021 Nitto ATP Finals.
Ruud at the 2021 Nitto ATP Finals. Photo: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour.


Ruud in action in Paris in November.
Ruud in action in Paris in November. Photo: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour.



RUUD AT THE NITTO ATP FINALS: A DASHING DEBUT
Norweigan reached semi-finals in impressive first Nitto ATP Finals campaign a year ago
Ruud’s qualification for the 2022 Nitto ATP Finals was confirmed in late September after his second-round win against Nicolas Jarry in Seoul. Having reached the semi-finals on tournament debut in 2021, the 23-year-old has plenty of fond memories of Turin to draw on as he once again prepares to take on the world’s best at the Pala Alpitour.

“Well, it was amazing. It was a great experience for me,” Ruud recently told ATPTour.com, when asked about his 2021 run at the season finale. “I had played the NextGen finals once in Milan, so that’s an idea of what it’s like in the Nitto ATP Finals. But it was a little bit different.

“Everything was bigger, of course. We were treated in Turin as big superstars and [there were] hundreds of people waiting outside our hotel every morning and every night to catch a glimpse of us. So, it was really fun, and we were treated so well. I just enjoyed a lot and was thinking ‘I’m going to enjoy it, because this is not guaranteed to play this tournament again in your career, but I will try my best to be back here’.”

Playing as the eighth seed, Ruud recovered strongly from an opening round-robin defeat to Novak Djokovic. His three-set victories against Cameron Norrie and Andrey Rublev took him to the semi-finals, where he fell to 2020 champion Daniil Medvedev.

“I did play probably better and reach further than I expected,” acknowledged Ruud. “I played two good matches. I was in a group of course with Novak and playing the first match against him was not easy, but winning that second match in the group against Rublev, 7-6 in the third, was special. It was a very close match and luckily it ended in my favour. So, it was a great result and a great ending to an incredible year for me in my career.”

2022: A Cherry On Top In Turin?
World No. 4 ready to make his mark at season finale
Ruud returns to Turin a substantially more experienced player after a stellar year on the ATP Tour, and this year the World No. 4 is the third highest-ranked player in the field. After lifting five tour-level titles in a breakout 2021, he is delighted with how he has backed up that success this season.

“I did know from the first point or first tournament of the year that this was going to be a very important year for my career, and [that] breaking into the Top 10 is maybe one thing, but to stay there and defend the results from a great year is another thing,” said Ruud. “So I knew it was going to be very tough and difficult, but I was going to give it my best of course, and then I had some great results at the big tournaments.

“That obviously has helped, when [it comes to] the points and the points that I’ve got and defended. Last year it was more of a stability sort of thing that got me into the Top 10, winning a lot of 250 tournaments and this year it has been more [of that], but also I’ve had some big results in the big tournaments.”

After two years of near-constant progression, it would be unwise to back against Ruud making his mark again this year in Turin.

“I think last year (2021) made me believe more that I could compete at the highest level and in the highest tournaments, that I could do well, with the results I had and the position I started in this year. So [2022 has] been very, very fun.”

Nowegian in Green Group with Nadal, Felix, Fritz
Casper Ruud knew he had his work cut out for him this season. After making his Nitto ATP Finals debut to cap a breakout 2021 campaign, he was prepared for an ever bigger challenge as he fought to solidify his place among the game's elite.

The Norwegian delivered in a big way, surpassing even his own expectations as he comfortable booked a return trip to Turin. After finishing last season at No. 8 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, he rose as high as World No. 2 this year after winning three titles and reaching the final at Miami, Roland Garros and the US Open.

"People say sometimes that it can be tougher to stay in the Top 10 or Top 5 than to reach it [the first time] because now you have all these other players sort of chasing you and coming from behind and wanting to kick you out and replace you," Ruud said on media day in Turin, speaking with ATP Media. "It's a challenge, but I was able to do well enough to be here again this year and I'm very happy about that."

ATP WTA LIVE | Follow the Pepperstone ATP Race To Turin In Real Time

While Rune enjoyed strong support from his player box last year in Italy — "I think every seat in the box was taken by family and my team," he said — his entourage will include two new guests this year: his grandmothers.

"They don't come to too much," Ruud said of the VIPs. "Sometimes they are a little bit frustrated with me that I don't invite them too often. They are great, but as all grandmothers, they can maybe be a bit too much at times," he added with a smile. "But of course I love them and it's nice for them to be here for the first time."

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With his caring family in tow, the 2021 Turin semi-finalist has enjoyed being back in familiar surroundings at the Pala Alpitour, where each player has the luxury of his own locker room with their picture on the door and adorning the walls inside. Unlike last year, Ruud sealed his qualification for Turin with time to spare thanks to his stellar season.

"It's much more comfortable knowing that you're qualified for some time. Last year it was so stressful," he said, reflecting on the down-to-the-wire race between himself, Hubert Hurkacz, Jannik Sinner and Cameron Norrie. In the end, all four competed in Turin — Ruud and Hurkacz as direct qualifiers, Sinner and Norrie as alternates. But the experience left Ruud hungry to sew up his place early this year, and the Norwegian succeeded in that quest, clinching qualification in late September with a win in Seoul.

"You think about it when you start the year," he said of the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin. "The first match of the year, you're thinking, 'I want to have a good year', because you know that in November there will be the Nitto ATP Finals, and you hope you can reach it. To be able to do it again this year, for a second time, is very special.

"I knew that this year was going to be an important and challenging one for me because the first time you reach the Top 10, or the fist year you reach this tournament, you know that the next year you will have to defend everything that you have done."



After a gruelling season in which he played 22 tournaments and recorded 48 wins, will Ruud have enough left in the tank to make a deep run in Turin?

"Let's see. I do hope so," said the 23-year-old. "It's going to be a tough one. You're sort of trying to trick yourself that it's not the last one.

"This is such a great place, great city to play in. The Italian fans are so passionate that you will feel the energy from the moment you step on court, which hopefully can lift you a little bit, no mater who you are or who you are playing... They really know what they're doing here in Italy when it comes to the sport of tennis and that's a great feeling for us."