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The country music icon celebrates the Norwegian's victory
When ATP Tour titlists celebrate their championships, they often pose for a series of photos with their team, family and friends. On Sunday, Casper Ruud added global music icon Shania Twain to his list.

Twain, a country music legend, started a flurry of discussion on social media Monday when she posted a photo of herself on court with Ruud following the Norwegian's triumph in the EFG Swiss Open Gstaad final.

“Spent my Sunday watching Casper Ruud win his second Swiss Open Gstaad,” Twain wrote on Twitter. “Congratulations my friend, what a result!”


Last year, Twain attended the ATP 250 for the semi-finals and the final, which Ruud won. The Norwegian’s family met the singer through mutual friends, so she returned for another visit to the tournament this edition. Fittingly, Ruud again lifted the trophy.

“I really appreciated that she came back this year and supported me in the final,” Ruud said. “It was nice to see her again.”

The stars of the ATP Tour are used to competing on the tennis court, but not in the way they did on Saturday at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers.

Casper Ruud, Hubert Hurkacz, Tommy Paul, Alex Molcan, Emil Ruusuvuori, Harri Heliovaara and Andreas Mies took on National Hockey League players, including Calgary Flames star Jonathan Huberdeau, in the annual game of ball hockey contested at the Canadian ATP Masters 1000 event.

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It was no surprise that the professional hockey players — Huberdeau, Zachary L’Heureux, Marc-Edouard Classic, Jonathan Drouin and Olympic gold medalist in women’s hockey, Melodie Daoust — dominated the action. But there was fun for all involved, especially the tennis players who are hockey fans, like Ruusuvuori.

“I love both. I used to play quite a bit [of hockey] with my friends when I was younger. I love the sport. I still follow and I have a lot of friends playing, also in the NHL. I love both sports and it was really fun today to play with these guys,” Ruusuvuori said. “It was really cool.”

Huberdeau, who was tied for second in the National Hockey League in points last season with 115, is the “Hubi” of the NHL. The Flame even took a photo with the ATP’s “Hubi”, Hurkacz.

“It was a lot of fun. What you guys are doing, it’s a joke. It’s so hard. I’m just struggling to follow somehow the ball," Hurkacz said. "t’s really amazing.”

Jonathan Huberdeau and <a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/hube ... ew'>Hubert Hurkacz</a>
Photo Credit: ATP Tour
"I think these guys are just athletes and they're talented in every sport, you can tell," Huberdeau replied. "I'm a big tennis fan. It's the same thing when you guys play, I think it's impressive."

Now, the tennis players will return to their day jobs with the tennis main draw set to begin on Monday.

“I’m definitely better at tennis, but it’s nice to play hockey because I never do it,” Paul said. “This was probably the first time I’ve done it since I was four years old. It wasn’t pretty, but it was fun.”

Fourth seed next plays Felix or Norrie

Casper Ruud continued his quest for a first ATP Masters 1000 title Thursday, rallying past Roberto Bautista Agut 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals in rainy Montreal.

The Norwegian recovered from a slow start as he upped his intensity in the second set to level. Following a 69-minute rain-delay, the fourth seed opened his shoulders in the decider to finish the job after three hours and 17 minutes at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers.

In front of a lively crowd, Ruud found greater depth, consistency and topspin on his backhand in the third set, which allowed him to force Bautista Agut back and close points with his powerful forehand.

“It was a tough battle. The first two sets were two hours and 20 minutes. Good intensity and I was feeling it a bit in the legs,” Ruud said in his on-court interview. “Luckily there was some rain, which gave me some time to breath out and regain some energy and I can thank the weather gods today, giving me some extra time and energy.”


The 23-year-old, who advanced to the quarter-finals in Toronto last season, has improved his ATP Head2Head series record against the Spaniard to 1-2 and will next play home favourite Felix Auger-Aliassime or World No. 11 Cameron Norrie.

“This win was a bit extra special. It was against a player I had never beaten before,” Ruud added. “Such good quality two first sets. I didn’t feel I was able to find any holes in his game, which was frustrating. He is a very tough player, one of the best over the past six, seven, eight years. Someone I think all young players should look up to. How professional he is and how great a fighter, runner and competitor he is.”

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The World No. 7 is the highest seed left in the draw, after Daniil Medvedev, Carlos Alcaraz and Stefanos Tsitsipas all lost on Wednesday.

Ruud has won three tour-level titles this year, while he advanced to his maiden Masters 1000 final in Miami in April, losing to 19-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz. Ruud is now 37-13 on the season, while he holds a 10-3 record on hard courts.

Bautista Agut was aiming to reach the quarter-finals at the Canadian Masters 1000 event for the fourth consecutive year. The 34-year-old had won his past six matches, having lifted the trophy in Kitzbühel last month.