In the French Open final, Casper Ruud acknowledged that Rafael Nadal gave him “a good beating,” but he is relieved that he won’t face the Spaniard in his second Grand Slam final at Roland Garros. At the French Open this year, Ruud, 23, made it to his first Grand Slam final before falling to Nadal, 6-3, 6-3, 6-0.
Ruud advanced to the US Open final on Friday by defeating Karen Khachanov 7-5 (5) 6-2 5-7 6-2. Ruud will this time face the other Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in the US Open final.
“(Nadal) obviously gave me a good beating,” the Norwegian said. “After the final I said, ‘if I ever reach one again, I hope it is not Rafa on the other side of the court in Roland Garros’, because it’s sort of an impossible task I think for any player.”
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“I’m happy that it’s not Rafa on clay. I hope it can have prepared me a little bit. At least I know a little bit what I’m facing when I’m stepping on the court, seeing the trophy on the back of the court, seeing tons of celebrities. I hope I can be more ready for that on Sunday,” Ruud added.
Ruud is now just one victory away from winning a Grand Slam and rising to the top of the world rankings.
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However, Ruud has been criticised for being a one-surface expert because eight of his nine career victories have come on clay.
His three victories in 2022 came on clay in Buenos Aires, Geneva, and Gstaad.
Making the final in Miami helped him realise that he can be a force on faster courts. Prior to this year, he had never advanced past the third round in New York in four attempts.
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“Reaching that final I think did something with my self-belief but also respect from other players,” Ruud, the current world No 7 said.
“Whenever they look at my results, they’ll see, Okay, he made the final of an ATP 1000 on hard court. This guy knows to play more than clay. If you can have small per centages of fear or respect in your opponent’s head, it will of course help,” Ruud added.
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Daniil Medvedev, the top seed and defending champion, lost in the round of 16, and Stefanos Tsitsipas, rated fifth, lost in the first round, both aiding Ruud’s progress to the final. Both were in the draws in Ruud’s half.
Pushing Alcaraz as far back as possible on Sunday, in Ruud’s opinion, will be crucial for success.
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“If he steps in, he can do anything with the ball. He can rip a winner. He also has great touch with the dropshot,” Ruud said, adding, “But if you play with good depth and good length, it’s tougher to hit dropshots. That will be something that I will try to focus on.”