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Norwegian still in semi-final contention at the Nitto ATP Finals
Casper Ruud recovered from a set down against Cameron Norrie at the Nitto ATP Finals on Wednesday to keep his hopes of making the semi-finals alive. After a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory, the Norwegian will attempt to record his first win in his fifth ATP Head2Head meeting over Andrey Rublev on Friday.

“I played against him a couple of times and never was able to beat him,” Ruud said. “But I will, of course, try my best to bring something new to the table on Friday and challenge him in a different way than I’ve done before, because previously it hasn’t been working as I’ve wanted.

“But it will be a fun challenge. He’s a nice guy, we know each other well and he always plays with such high intensity. So I hope to do the same.”

Ruud, the first Norwegian to play at the Nitto ATP Finals, lost his opening match 7-6(4), 6-2 to Novak Djokovic on Monday. Djokovic went on to secure his place in the semi-finals after beating Rublev on Wednesday.

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Anticipating a match against Stefanos Tsitsipas, Ruud had to make a rapid adjustment when the Greek star withdrew from the season finale, which is being played at the Pala Alpitour in Turin.

Ruud dropped just two games when he and Norrie met for the first time in the final of the San Diego Open earlier this year, but Wednesday’s clash was a much more closely contested affair. Ruud was able to turn things around after losing the first set, and credited his serve as the key to his comeback.

“I think I did better in the second and third [sets] because I didn’t [make] so many unforced errors, and I was also serving much better," said Ruud. "The serve helped me a lot today,

“On this surface, when it’s so fast, it’s a very important shot. Probably the most important shot during the matches is to have a good serve, because you get a lot of free points, and that was key today.”

Ruud ended the match with 10 aces and he lost only two points behind his first serve in both the second and third sets.

“Everything changed a little bit with the momentum after a couple of points that went my way in the 4-3 game in the second set," said Ruud. “Cameron maybe made some unforced errors that helped me a little bit to get the break. It’s a point or two that can turn a match around and I’m very happy that it ended up going my way today.”

Norwegian went 2-1 in Green Group
In a winner-takes-all Green Group match, it was Casper Ruud who rose to the task Friday at the Nitto ATP Finals, edging Andrey Rublev 2-6, 7-5, 7-6(5) in a high-quality match to qualify for the semi-finals in Turin.

The 22-year-old bounced back from losing his opening round-robin match against Novak Djokovic by defeating Cameron Norrie to set up a crunch clash against Rublev, with the Russian also holding a 1-1 record after two matches.

“The court is playing very fast and Andrey plays very fast,” Ruud said in his on-court interview. “He rips the ball harder than anyone on the Tour and serves very well on his first serve. We all want to play under control and with initiative, but it is not easy against Rublev because he makes you run all the time and play defensively all the time. I knew I had to fight fire with fire. On the big points I think I played quite smartly.”

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With the pressure on, Ruud imposed his aggressive game on Rublev, hitting his powerful groundstrokes with precision and depth as he rallied from a break down in the second and third sets to secure his victory in two hours and 24 minutes.

The World No. 8 has finished second in the Green Group behind Djokovic and will face Daniil Medvedev in the last four on Saturday, while the World No. 1 will play Alexander Zverev.

“I am just enjoying the moment,” Ruud said. “I am looking forward to tomorrow already. It is going to be another tough battle, different kind of player from today, but one of the best in the world and he has proven himself as one of the best over the past two or three years. I have played against him a couple of times and lost both, but I know a little bit about what I am going to face and it is going to be a fun challenge.”

Ruud, who is making his debut at the season finale, fired 34 winners and broke Rublev three times as he rallied back to reduce his ATP Head2Head series deficit to 1-4 against the 24-year-old.

The Norwegian has enjoyed a standout 2021 season, capturing tour-level titles in Geneva, Bastad, Gstaad, Kitzbühel and San Diego. Ruud also reached the semi-finals at ATP Masters 1000 events in Monte Carlo and Madrid and became the first Norwegian to crack the Top 10 in the FedEx ATP Rankings.

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In a fast start, Rublev quickly found his rhythm from the baseline and was dominant on serve, not facing a break point in the first set as he won 92 per cent (12/13) of points behind his first delivery. The Russian sealed the opener in 34 minutes when Ruud hit a backhand wide.

In a tighter second set, Ruud provided greater resistance as he began to play far more aggressively, stepping inside the baseline to pin Rublev back. After breaks were exchanged in the middle of the second set, it was Ruud who raised his level at the end of the set, dictating on his forehand to force a decider.


Both players continued to strike the ball with immense power in the third set off the forehand wing. After Rublev broke, Ruud responded immediately to level at 3-3. The World No. 8 then showcased his grit, fending off a break point at 5-5 with a forehand winner as they moved to a tie-break. In a tight tie-break, Ruud held his nerve to seal a massive win.

Rublev was making his second appearance at the season finale, having fallen in the round-robin stage in London last year. Earlier this year, the fifth seed clinched the title in Rotterdam and reached the final at ATP Masters 1000 events in Monte Carlo and Cincinnati.

“It is tough,” Rublev said. “Hopefully I can go through it to get a good lesson, which will give me a huge improvement.

“In the moment I got tight, which is normal,” Rublev said. “Casper played well. He has a great forehand. One of the best on Tour. He dictates with it and hits the ball well. Because I was tight, I was serving too slowly and he returned aggressively on the forehand and I could not do anything.”

Norwegian has worked on serve to adapt to fast Turin surface
Casper Ruud will be trawling through old matches ahead of his semi-final at the Nitto ATP Finals, looking for clues as to how to beat World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev on Saturday.

Speaking after overcoming Andrey Rublev on Friday to go 2-1 in Green Group action, the Norwegian admitted, “Tomorrow, I hope I can have the crowd on my side as I’m playing the World No. 2 and I’d appreciate the support. I will fight and run until I am too tired to run. I have lost to him twice before, so I have to come up with a better game plan tomorrow.”

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Medvedev, the Nitto ATP Finals defending champion, has gotten the better of Ruud in their two previous matches at the 2020 ATP Cup and at the Mallorca Championships in June. The Russian is 12-2 indoors this year and five of his 13 tour-level crowns have come on indoor hard courts.

“I will go tonight and look at the match ups against myself, then look at footage of [Dominic] Thiem versus Medvedev in the past,” said Ruud. “I’m not similar to Dominic, but we do both play with quite a lot of topspin from the forehand. I think we both prefer to play the heavier shots with a lot of spin. Dominic has the potential to play so fast also, has a good slice, an unbelievable backhand, and I’d be interested to see what he has done in the past.”

“The past two or three years, Daniil have proved that he deserves to be on top of the world and tomorrow it will be my task to surprise him and try to beat him. It will obviously be tough, he is a great player, especially on an indoor hard-court. He has also struggled a bit [this week]. I think three matches in three sets, so he hasn’t been flawless and I hope I can find a way to force some errors from our match.”

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The 22-year-old Ruud, who recovered to beat Rublev 2-6, 7-6, 7-6(5) at the Pala Alpitour in Turin, has now won 11 straight deciding sets since losing to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at Roland Garros in May.

“My best service performance was against Cameron [Norrie on Wednesday], not the start, but in the second and third sets,” said Ruud, who has won 55 matches and lifted five ATP Tour trophies in 2021. “My serve got better as the match went on today. I have been working on it since Paris, also knowing in practice that the courts would be difficult to return on.”

“It was a great feeling and a relief [today], on the match point, to serve an ace. The toughest thing about the sport is the more you win, the more matches you play, and they become tougher. It’s the first time I have experienced the Nitto ATP Finals and I hope to play a good match [tomorrow].”

Former World No. 4 Brad Gilbert provides insight
Early in his career, Casper Ruud embraced his clay-court success and wanted to follow in the footsteps of Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem by becoming a menace on the surface. Although the Norwegian has done that, he has had a Ruud Renaissance elsewhere: hard courts.

The 22-year-old has reversed his fortunes on the surface in 2021 in a big way. And after advancing to the semi-finals of the Nitto ATP Finals on Friday with a victory against Andrey Rublev, Ruud is two wins away from lifting the trophy at the season finale on his least-favoured surface.

“When I was watching him play against Rublev, your mindset is just that he’s really good now,” He’s not just a clay-court player who is starting to get better,” former World No. 4 Brad Gilbert told ATPTour.com. “He’s just a good player now and that result didn’t surprise me.”


Entering the season, Ruud was 16-27 in tour-level matches on hard courts. This year, he is 25-9 with victories against Rublev, Turin competitor Cameron Norrie, former World No. 1 Andy Murray, Argentine Diego Schwartzman, 2017 Nitto ATP Finals champion Grigor Dimitrov and more. Only three players own a better winning percentage on hard courts this year, and they are the three other semi-finalists in Turin: Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev.

It has been a work in progress for Ruud, who focussed on his hard-court game during the ATP Tour’s suspension due to the Covid-19 pandemic last year. He spent the time making himself comfortable being uncomfortable.

“You have to be even faster with the legs and quicker with the steps, reacting quicker than maybe when you’re standing two, three, four metres behind the baseline,” Ruud told ATPTour.com at the time. “It’s definitely been a challenge for me. In some practices I’ve felt like I’ve made more mistakes than I usually do because stepping more into the court is higher risk than staying back and playing with more topspin. “It’s more comfortable being aggressive than being on the defence and running around all the time. You have to try to be as aggressive as you can but for some people it comes more naturally than others.”

Ruud’s team, spearheaded by his father, former World No. 39 Christian Ruud, has known Casper’s strongest surface is clay, where he has time to hit as many forehands as possible and grind down opponents. But Christian never lost faith that his son had potential on hard.

“On hard courts you have to stay inside the baseline more and take the ball on the rise. He has improved that a lot, especially on the backhand side. He has beaten some good guys on hard courts this year and previously,” Christian told ATPTour.com in August. “While his favourite surface may always be clay, I think he can do well in the future on hard courts.”

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Ruud’s surge on hard came quicker than they might have expected. The Norwegian claimed his first ATP Tour title on the surface at the San Diego Open, where he lost just two games in the final against Norrie. Now, he is shining in Turin at the Pala Alpitour.

Early in the week, several players noted the court’s quick speed, which would seemingly be unfavourable for Ruud. But Gilbert, who has been following the Nitto ATP Finals closely from his home in California, believes it has been closer to a medium speed. And the Norwegian has thrived, defeating Norrie and Rublev to advance to the semi-finals against Medvedev.

Gilbert remembers watching Ruud two years ago in Houston, where he made his maiden tour-level final. And a couple of things stick out that the former coach of Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick believes has made a big difference.

“He’s improved his serve a tonne. That’s his most improved shot. Both his first and his second. He’s incredibly improved on both those shots,” Gilbert said. “His forehand is his big weapon and in the past he’d hit a lot of home runs, but have a lot of misses. He’s so much more consistent and accurate with his forehand as well. Those two shots are why he is playing so much better.

“He’s gotten consistent, he’s gotten solid and he’s learned to not overplay, not play differently from what he tries to do on clay where he’s so good.”

Ruud earned 55 tour-level wins in 2021
Following his loss to Daniil Medvedev in the semi-finals at the Nitto ATP Finals, Casper Ruud was in a reflective mood on Saturday as he looked back fondly on his breakthrough season and the experience he has gained in Turin.

The 22-year-old won five tour-level titles and became the first Norwegian to crack the Top 10 in the FedEx ATP Rankings in 2021.

“It has been a great year for me and my development as a tennis player,” Rudd said. “Getting to know my opponents more and playing this tournament has been a great experience. To finish a very good year off here in Turin has been a great experience for me and something I will be eager to try and repeat and be back here next year.”

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Ruud was making his debut at the season finale and went 2-1 in Green Group action as he advanced to the semi-finals. It is a tournament the World No. 8 feels will be crucial for his development as he aims to return to the Pala Alpitour next year.

“I got the perfect feedback on what I have to work on in my game to compete with the top guys in the world for next year,” Rudd said. “I played the World No. 1 and No. 2 this week and they beat me fairly comfortably, so that makes me want to seek revenge and become a better player next year.

“When next year starts, I will have it in the back of my mind. Every week and every match matters. It was only a couple of matches that made the difference of qualifying for the tournament. I am proud of the year and am looking forward to next year. If I can keep playing well, I can have another year like this year.”

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A large part of Ruud’s success has been down to his differing fortunes on hard courts, with the 22-year-old capturing his first tour-level title on the surface in San Diego in October. Prior to this year, Ruud held a 16-27 tour-level record on hard. But he went 25-10 this season on the surface.

On his improvement, Ruud said: “I have brought a lot of match confidence playing big on big points and winning the right points in many matches. Many of the matches I have played this year have been decided by only two or three points. The majority of all of my wins have been decided by only a few points, but that is something you build up when you play a lot of matches.

“It is easy to doubt yourself in the toughest moments, but this year has been great for me when it has come down to this as I have played aggressively and well on the biggest points.”