The Ruud Awakening!

On Saturday, in Geneva, Casper Ruud retained his singles title by defeating Portugal's Joao Sousa in the final, 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(1), in a match that lasted more than three hours. That encounter ebbed and flowed like a lot of modern matches whose outcome it is impossible to predict. But a lesser player than Casper Ruud would have lost it.

Weather permitting, tomorrow the Norwegian begins his campaign at this year's French Open when he takes on Jo-Wilfrid Tsonga in the second match on Court Philippe Chatrier. The 37-year-old wildcard is taking part in his last French Open and, although he has won only two singles matches since the beginning of 2021, he will have nothing to lose in front of his home crowd.
 
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Ruud can become a French hero by allowing one more blaze of glory for Notre Jo. He also can stay at The WATLYNM Lodge for two long weeks!
 
No one could claim that Casper Ruud isn't good in tiebreaks. On Saturday last, in the final in Geneva against Joao Sousa, he won two out of two. And earlier today, against Jo-Wilfrid Tsonga in first-round action in Paris, Ruud won two out of the three tiebreaks played.

The only tiebreak of the five that the Norwegian lost was the one which ended the first set of his match against Tsonga today. The Frenchman won that one by 8 points to 6 after leading by 6 points to 4. In the second set roles were reversed as Ruud took it on another tiebreak, by 7 points to 4.

The Norwegian took the third set more easily, 6-2, and leading 5-4 in the fourth set was two points from victory at deuce on Tsonga's serve. However, the Frenchman held in that game before breaking Ruud to love to lead 6-5. But serving for the set in the next game Tsonga was himself broken, to 15.

Then came the third tiebreak of the day. In it, Ruud was rampant and won every point against a hapless opponent to complete a 6-7(6), 7-6(4), 6-2, 7-6(0) win.
 
Joseph_K said:
No one could claim that Casper Ruud isn't good in tiebreaks. On Saturday last, in the final in Geneva against Joao Sousa, he won two out of two. And earlier today, against Jo-Wilfrid Tsonga in first-round action in Paris, Ruud won two out of the three tiebreaks played.

The only tiebreak of the five that the Norwegian lost was the one which ended the first set of his match against Tsonga today. The Frenchman won that one by 8 points to 6 after leading by 6 points to 4. In the second set roles were reversed as Ruud took it on another tiebreak, by 7 points to 4.

The Norwegian took the third set more easily, 6-2, and leading 5-4 in the fourth set was two points from victory at deuce on Tsonga's serve. However, the Frenchman held in that game before breaking Ruud to love to lead 6-5. But serving for the set in the next game Tsonga was himself broken, to 15.

Then came the third tiebreak of the day. In it, Ruud was rampant and won every point against a hapless opponent to complete a 6-7(6), 7-6(4), 6-2, 7-6(0) win.
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I would not call him anything special in tiebreaks, 63-79 for his career. Granted, he's 10-5 on the year.
 
Aabye5 said:
I would not call him anything special in tiebreaks, 63-79 for his career. Granted, he's 10-5 on the year.
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He’s improved a lot in TBs since his early days, probably much of it due to building the better serve and then taking a more aggressive return game strategy.

His breakout year that included the 2017 Rio SF run saw him lose about 2 out of 3 TBs (4-13 by my count). Lots of neutral and/or passive court position to start receiving points made it very hard to get the minibreak points. This happened in many a Challenger match too, where he clearly had a talent gap advantage.
 
Casper Ruud dispatched the Finn Emil Ruusuvuori in straight sets yesterday to reach the third round at the French Open for the fourth year in a row; the score was 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. It is surprising that the Norwegian has yet to reach the fourth round at Roland Garros, and his next opponent, the Italian Lorenzo Sonego, the no. 32 seed, is unlikely to make it easy for Ruud to do so. Then again, Ruud leads their head-to-head 3-0, so it is not as if he will be facing an insurmountable challenge when the pair meet in Paris tomorrow.
 
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Casper Ruud made a good start to his third-round match against Lorenzo Sonego on Saturday in Paris. From 2-all in the first set the Norwegian looked to be in fine form as he took four games in a row for the set.

However, the second set was a much closer affair and Ruud had to recover from a break of serve at 3-all to even things three games later. The set ended on a tiebreak, which Sonego won by 7 points to 3.

That seemed to energize the Italian, who quickly went to 5-0 in the third set, which he took in the seventh game for a two-sets-to-one lead. At 4-all and 30-30 on his own serve in the fourth set Ruud was in danger, but he managed to hold in that game before breaking Sonego to 15 in the next game to make it 2 sets-all

A run of three games, in which he lost only one point in thirteen, as he moved from 1-all to 4-1, decided the fifth set and the match as Ruud, serving superbly, held on and took the match in the ninth game of that set for a hard-fought win at 6-2, 6-7(3), 1-6, 6-4, 6-3.

The Norwegian next faces Hubert Hurkacz, the no. 12 seed, for a place in the quarter-finals. The pair have not played each other before.
 
Yes, a historic achievement by Casper Ruud who in Paris earlier today defeated Hubert Hurkacz 6-2, 6-3, 3,-6, 6-3 to become the first Norwegian man to reach the quarter-finals of the singles event at a major. He arguably played the best tennis of career during the match and well deserves his place in the last eight.

Who could have predicted that his opponent there will be his Danish neighbour, 19-year-old Holger Rune? Ruud leads their head-to-head 3-0, but Rune seems to have been visibly improving tournament by tournament this year.
 
Joseph_K said:
Yes, a historic achievement by Casper Ruud who in Paris earlier today defeated Hubert Hurkacz 6-2, 6-3, 3,-6, 6-3 to become the first Norwegian man to reach the quarter-finals of the singles event at a major. He arguably played the best tennis of career during the match and well deserves his place in the last eight.

Who could have predicted that his opponent there will be his Danish neighbour, 19-year-old Holger Rune? Ruud leads their head-to-head 3-0, but Rune seems to have been visibly improving tournament by tournament this year.
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Their latest encounter was very close, as opposed to the two meetings last year. Rune has improved drastically this year!
 
Yes, and in doing so Ulrikke Eikeri became the first Norwegian player, male or female, to reach a major final since Molla (Bjurstedt) Mallory more than 100 years ago. What’s more, Eikeri and her Belgian partner, Joran Vliegen, were 1-6, 2-5 down in the semi-finals to the American-German partnership of Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Kevin Krawietz before coming all the way back to eventually win 1-6, 7-6(4), [10-7].

Can Casper Ruud make things easier for himself when he takes on Holger Rune tonight in quarter-final action in Paris? A good start would be positive…

junior74 said:
Warm-up for the QF:
Fellow Norwegian Ulrikke Eikeri just reached the final in mixed doubles with partner Joran Vliegen of Belgium :cool:
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Casper Ruud's quarter-final match against Holger Ruud at the French Open on Wednesday evening/night can be divided into three stages. In the first stage the Norwegian led 6-1, 3-2, 40-0, in other words by a set and a break and with three points on his own serve to consolidate that break

In the second stage of the match Ruud failed to consolidate the break he had achieved early in the second set and was broken twice in that set, which Rune eventually won 6-4. Although Ruud broke to lead 4-3 in the third set, he immediately ceded this advantage by being broken in the next game.

The third set ended on a tiebreak during which the third and final stage of the match began. Playing some of his best tennis of the match, the Norwegian took the last five points of the tiebreak to establish a two-sets-to-one lead.

In the fourth set Ruud achieved the crucial break when ahead 4-3 and then served out to 15 for a 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-3 win. In the match as a whole Ruud made 55 winners to Rune's 54, but Ruud made only 24 unforced errors to Rune's 46. The Norwegian also got 68% of his first serves in and hit 13 aces.

On Friday, Ruud will face 33-year-old Marin Cilic for a place in the final. Ruud leads their head-to-head 2-0.
 
Casper Ruud is the top seed at the Queen's Club tournament, which really gets underway in London on Monday next. The Norwegian will face the Englishman Ryan Peniston in the first round.

Ruud is due to move up to no. 5 when the new ATP singles rankings are issued next week and a good run at the Queen's Club would help consolidate his fully-deserved new position among the tennis elite.
 
So, Casper Ruud has been seeded no. 3 for this year's men's singles event at Wimbledon. This high seeding is not, of course, due to his record on grass, which is virtually non-existent, but to his consistent play and success on other surfaces, especially clay.

The Norwegian has a familiar opponent in the first-round at Wimbledon, in the form of the 34-year-old Spaniard Albert Ramos, who leads their head-to-head 4-1. All five of their meetings have come on clay, though they haven't faced each other since their semi-final match in Santiago in February 2020, when Ruud won in two sets.
 
Yes, congratulations to Casper Ruud on his first win in the main draw of the men's singes event at Wimbledon. The Norwegian achieved this feat earlier on Monday by defeating an old foe, the Spaniard Albert Ramos, in three sets, 7-6(1), 7-6(9), 6-2. There couldn't have been a greater contrast than that between the two tiebreaks which featured in this match. Ruud won the first one without any trouble, but in the second he was 2 points to 6 down at one stage, then 6 points to 7 behind. Somehow he managed to save all five set ponts and to eventually take it on his third set point. That second tiebreak was like a mini-set in itself and lasted nearly twenty minutes. Ruud could have made things much easier for himself by holding serve when leading 5-4, or again when leading 6-5 in that second set, but was broken both times.

A prolonged downpour intervened before the third set could begin, and when the players returned to the court, it was Ruud who looked the fresher and more determined. He failed to convert two break points when leading 1-0 in the third set, but broke through at 2-1 and had three more break points when leading 4-1, none of which he was able to convert. However, at 5-1 he broke again before holding to 30 in the next game for a deserved win.
 
Defending champion and top seed Casper Ruud moved into the semi-finals of the Swiss Open in Gstaad earlier today by beating the Spaniard Jaume Munar in two tiebreaks, 7-6(3), 7-6(4). Tomorrow the Norwegian will face Albert Ramos, the player he defeated in the first round at this year's Wimbledon before losing to Ugo Humbert in the second round in four sets.
 
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It took Casper Ruud just 63 minutes to rout Albert Ramos 6-2, 6-0 in the semi-finals of the Swiss Open earlier today and reach his thirteenth final at ATP level. In the second set the hapless Spaniard could win only six points in six games as Ruud narrowed their head-to-head to 3-4 overall. In tomorrow's final the Norwegian will take on Matteo Berrettini, the no. 2 seed. Their head-to-head is currently 2-2 and they have never faced each other in a final before.
 
The outcome of the Swiss Open final in Gstaad earlier today was uncertain until midway through the third set when Casper Ruud broke Matteo Berrettini for a second time to move ahead 4-1. The Norwegian had lost the first set in the tenth game and, in the second set, had had to save two break points at the 1-all and another at 4-all to realistically stay in the match.

The second set ended on a tiebreak, which Ruud won 7-4 after leading 5-1. In the first game of the third set Berrettini saved three break points in a 13-point game, but was broken at 1-all and 1-3 as Ruud took control. At 5-2 the Norwegian served out to 15 for a 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-2 victory and his ninth ATP singles title. That total includes the last two Swiss Opens in Gstaad and the last two Geneva Opens, leaving the Norwegian 16-0 in his last sixteen singles matches in Switzerland.
 
Joseph_K said:
The outcome of the Swiss Open final in Gstaad earlier today was uncertain until midway through the third set when Casper Ruud broke Matteo Berrettini for a second time to move ahead 4-1. The Norwegian had lost the first set in the tenth game and, in the second set, had had to save two break points at the 1-all and another at 4-all to realistically stay in the match.

The second set ended on a tiebreak, which Ruud won 7-4 after leading 5-1. In the first game of the third set Berrettini saved three break points in a 13-point game, but was broken at 1-all and 1-3 as Ruud took control. At 5-2 the Norwegian served out to 15 for a 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-2 victory and his ninth ATP singles title. That total includes the last two Swiss Opens in Gstaad and the last two Geneva Opens, leaving the Norwegian 16-0 in his last sixteen singles matches in Switzerland.
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I wonder if he will apply for Swiss citizenship at some point. He seems to achieve his best results at Swiss events. ;)
 
A successful return to action earlier on Wednesday in Montreal for Casper Ruud, who defeated the much-improved Slovak Alex Molcan in straight sets, 7-6(3), 6-3. The Norwegian was ahead in the first set at 3-1, and then 5-3, but failed to serve it out in the tenth game before recovering to win the tiebreak. Ruud is seeded no. 4 in Montreal and will next face Roberto Bautista-Agut, the no. 15 seed, for a place in the quarter-finals. The Spaniard leads their head-to-head 2-0.
 
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Neither rain nor a stubborn opponent was ultimately able to prevent Casper Ruud from reaching the quarter-finals at the Canadian Championships for the second year in a row earlier today. The Norwegian defeated Roberto Bautista Agut 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 6-4 to reach the last eight again, where he'll face either Cameron Norrie or the Montreal native Felix Auger Aliassime.
 
Gotta think he loses QF again. I did have Agut beating him but it was a close match up, Norrie or Felix would be heavy favourites.
 
BGod said:
Gotta think he loses QF again. I did have Agut beating him but it was a close match up, Norrie or Felix would be heavy favourites.
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Well, Casper is 3-0 H2H with Norrie - all matches on hard court...

FAA is much tougher, and he is home favourite.

Casper has a higher average level, reflected in his ranking. FAA has a very high top level. If he had the ability to sustain that level throughout matches and tournaments, he would already be a slam champion in my opinion.
 
Yes, Casper Ruud is one of the most consistent players on the ATP Tour (albeit not on grass courts!). He is 1-1 with Felix Auger Aliassime at ATP level, and also 1-1 with him at Challenger level, so 2-2 overall. If the Norwegian can maintain his good form, and if both Alexander Zverev and Rafael Nadal were to miss the U.S. Open, Ruud would probably be seeded no. 4 in New York. In any case, he lost in the second round there last year, so doesn’t have many points to defend at the final major of the year.
 
junior74 said:
Well, Casper is 3-0 H2H with Norrie - all matches on hard court...

FAA is much tougher, and he is home favourite.

Casper has a higher average level, reflected in his ranking. FAA has a very high top level. If he had the ability to sustain that level throughout matches and tournaments, he would already be a slam champion in my opinion.
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San Diego & WTF were not quality wins. Miami though you have a point.

Okay so not Norrie but Felix on faster hard and in Montreal I think is s big factor.
 
BGod said:
Gotta think he loses QF again. I did have Agut beating him but it was a close match up, Norrie or Felix would be heavy favourites.
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Shocking result for me, actually. I have RBA pegged as a much more dangerous hard-courter than Ruud. Didn't see it. Is Ruud's game rounding into form on hard-courts?
 
A very poor performance from Felix Auger Aliassime and a very good performance from Casper Ruud earlier today in quarter-final action in Montreal. It is true that the Canadian helped the Norwegian to victory by committing countless unforced errors. However, at the same time Ruud was in excellent form and played some wonderfully attacking tennis to which his opponent had no answer.

The match had a deceptive beginning, with an exchange of breaks opening it. In the fourth game, serving at 1-2, Felix had two game points but couldn't convert either of them and lost the game to fall 1-3 behind. After that things began to unravel for the Canadian as game after game went by very quickly, Ruud taking the first set 6-1.

In the first game of the second set Felix had one game point at 40-30, but lost the next three points, that game and next three games as a rampant Ruud moved ahead 4-0. Perhaps the Canadian was slightly inhibited playing in front of his home crowd. Their polite applause as Ruud won game after game had no effect on the Norwegian and might indeed have helped stoke his competitive fires. He served brilliantly and was wonderfully consistent off the ground.

Down 1-6, 0-4, Felix managed to hold serve for the first time in the match in the fifth game of the second set. He repeated the feat two games later before the merciless Ruud served out to 15 in the eighth game for an impressive 6-1, 6-2 win against a fellow top ten player.
 
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A disappointing performance in the end from Casper Ruud in the semi-finals in Montreal where he led Hubert Hurkacz by a set and a break (7-5, 1-0) before losing 5-7, 6-3, 6-2. With the return of Rafael Nadal at this week's Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati, the Norwegian has some real competition for the no. 4 seeding at the upcoming U.S. Open.

Ruud reached the quarter-finals in Cincinnati last year, so will probably need to at least repeat that performance this year to guarantee his chances of being seeded among the top four in New York. That said, the likely absences of both Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic will help him a good deal in this respect.
 
A straight sets win earlier today for Casper Ruud against Kyle Edmund in first-round action on the opening day of this year's U.S. Open. The Norwegian won 6-3, 7-5, 6-2, though not without a struggle in the first two sets in which he was broken several times. Had Edmund, a former semi-finalist at the Australian Open, not been so rusty -- he's coming back after a long absence due to a knee injury -- Ruud might well have lost at least one of those two sets.

In the second round Ruud, the no. 5 seed, will face the unseeded Dutchman Tim van Rijthoven, who saved seven match points in his first-round victory over the Chinese player Zhang Zhizhen.
 
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A solid enough performance, in the end, by Casper Ruud yesterday at the U.S. Open, where he beat Tim van Rijthoven 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the third round. In his next match the Norwegian will take on Tommy Paul, the no. 29 seed, against whom Ruud has a winning 2-1 head-to-head. This will be their first meeting at the U.S. Open, but they have already faced each other at two other majors: the 2020 French Open, where Ruud won in five sets; and the 2021 Australian Open, where Ruud won in four sets.
 
Casper Ruud and Tommy Paul fought each other for nearly four-and-a-half hours yesterday at the U.S. Open in what was an enthralling third-round encounter -- at least until the final set when all of the fizz went out of the match. Perhaps its outcome pivoted on the twelfth game of the third set where, leading 6-5 and 40-0 on his own serve, the American had three set points. Had he won any of the next three points, he would have gained a two-sets-to-one lead, the first two sets having been split after ending on tiebreaks.

However, in that key eleventh game in the third set Tommy Paul let up slightly and began to miss his first serves, while Casper Ruud raised his game, and hit himself out of trouble, a reaction which unsettled the American enough to make him lose the initiative. When Ruud won that 10-point game to level the set at 6-all, the momentum appeared to have swung his way again, and he took the ensuing tiebreak 7-2 with some more confident play.

But Tommy Paul wasn't finished yet. Leading 6-5 in the fourth set, he broke the Norwegian to love to take the match into the decider. At that stage it was still difficult to separate the players and predict the winner, but after a couple of games in the final set it became clear that Paul had, as the Americans say, run out of gas. He was broken after one deuce in the second game and, although he got to deuce once on Ruud's serve in the next game, he lost that one too. In total Paul would win only ten ponts in that final set including the six he won in games two and three. In the other four games he won only four points.

Sensing his chance, Casper Ruud understandably went for the jugular and ran the American ragged in those last few games -- Paul appeared to be cramping at one point in the final stages. But there is no doubt that the Norwegian could have won the match even if Paul hadn't begun to flag physically towards the end. These two players have now met over five sets at three of the four majors (the exception is Wimbledon) and each time Ruud has emerged the winner. His victory yesterday leaves him one round short of the quarter-finals, with world no. 112 Corentin Moutet of France now blocking his path in what will be a first meeting between the two players.
 
A brilliant performance by Casper Ruud in fourth-round action yesterday at the U.S. Open took the Norwegian to 6-1, 6-2, 4-3, 30-0, in other words just two games from victory. However, at that stage, and on his own serve, Ruud fell off a little, perhaps understandably given that he had spent close to five hours on court in his previous match. His opponent yesterday, the diminutive Frenchman Corentin Moutet, seized his chance and broke for the first time in the match to take the eighth game of the third set and level at 4-all.

Moutet maintained the momentum at the end of the fourth set to force a tiebreak, which he won by 7 points to 4. Continuing his revival, the Frenchman engineered a break point in the first game of the fourth set, but Ruud saved it with an ace. As he had done against Tommy Paul two days earlier, the Norwegian hit himself out of trouble with some tremendous serving and crushing forehands. His ability to play his best when it mattered most was in evidence once again.

Ruud broke Moutet to 30 for a 3-1 lead in the fourth set, and in the next game saved two more break points to move ahead 4-1. The Frenchman held to 15 in the next game, but the Norwegian broke again in the eighth game to seal the win at 6-1, 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-2. In the quarter-finals – his first appearance in the last eight in New York – Ruud will face a familiar foe in Matteo Berrettini. The Norwegian leads their head-to-head 3-2, but the Italian won their only previous encounter on hard courts, at the same tournament in New York in 2020.
 
stringertom said:
Ruud wins 6-3 6-4!

Great serve/FH combo, hitting many winners DTL and inside-out off of any ball left hanging midcourt. His BH was steady but not a big weapon; I like that he already throws in some shbh slices to change pace.

The returns need some work...stands way back and he doesn't have the wheels of a young Nadal to pull off aggressive tactics from there...lots of returns popping up midcourt that Eremin punished.

He plays #8 Cecchinato in 2R, who also won in straights. Could be a tough one; Cecchinato made the finals in Como Challenger two weeks ago, beating Volandri, the younger Ymer and Melzer, and Taro Daniel.
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Bump
 
One more victory at this year's U.S. Open and Casper Ruud is into his second major final of the year. On Wednesday the Norwegian defeated Matteo Berrettini 6-1, 6-4, 7-6(4) after at one stage leading 6-1, 5-1, 40-15. In the third set the Italian led 5-2 and had several set points but couldn't convert any of them. Later today Ruud faces Karen Khachanov for a place in the decider. The Norwegian leads their head-to-head 1-0.
 
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Another historic achievement by Casper Ruud earlier today as he reached the final of the ATP Finals in Turin by defeating Andrey Rublev. At one stage the Norwegian led 6-2, 5-1 in that match, but then wobbled slightly before recovering to serve out to love for a 6-2, 6-4 victory. At just his his second attempt he thus becomes the first player from Norway to reach the final singles match at the ATP season-ending championships.

Although Ruud was beaten by Rafael Nadal in his final round robin match in Turin on Thursday, the Norwegian had already done enough to reach the semi-final stage by beating Felix Auger Aliassime, 7-6(4), 6-4, and, in a match with a thrilling ending, Taylor Fritz, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(6). In those two matches Ruud faced a break point in only two games, both of them coming in the second set of his match against Fritz, the American breaking for the only time in the tenth game of that set.

Ruud's service has really been the bedrock of his game this week. It is the powerful first strike which sets him up to dictate points each time his delivery lands successfully. His devastating forehand and much-improved backhand have also been very impressive. He will need all of his weapons again in tomorrow's final in Turin, when he takes on Novak Djokovic. The Serb currently leads their head-to-head 3-0.
 
I think Ruud tenses up a little bit too much in these big titles. I'm sure its not easy when you have to play against Rafa @ RG and Djokovic @ Nitto ATP. But his forehand looks alot more defensive in these matches, especially considering he has one of the stronger forehands on tour.
 
Losing to VDZ from a winning position. 15 squandered BPs, included BPs to go up double break in the deciding set. Was also up a break and 40-15 and got broken - from a position where he was dominating the match...

Ruud has totally lost his mental fortitude, which actually was his prowess against the field below him...
 
He really is struggling so far this season, thankfully his saving grace (clay) is just around the corner so he can play 250s and try to get on the momentum train.
 
I like Casper Ruud. He's got beautiful groudstrokes, he moves well, and he's pretty even tempered on the court. It also helps that he's a good looking dude and well spoken in interviews. Some of his mannerisms and the way he talks reminds me of my all-time favorite player, Mats Wilander. Obviously, Mats had another gear in his ability to win 7 slam titles in singles (and 1 in doubles) against the best of the 1980's players. However, I see some similarities the Ruud and Wilander's ability to grind.

Anyway, I feel like the slump that Ruud is in for the first part of 2023 is a combination of high expectations mixed with some burnout. 2022 was an epic season reaching 2 slam finals and coming within 1 match win of the #1 ranking. As he's said in interviews, he probably needed an offseason to rest and retool, but decided to take the cash and experience of touring around with Rafa in South America playing all those exhibitions in December.

At the moment, you can see the doubt and frustration in Ruud's eyes when matches are tight. He shouldn't have lost to BVDZ, letting that one totally get away. However, I suspect that he'll have a decent clay court season in Europe to get back on track.
 
I hope so. He has one of strongest clay forehands I have seen in quite a while and serves surprisingly well for his size.

He clearly has his issues this year but I think he also outperformed in 2022 relative to his qualities. He will be a better player in years of come.
 
Its not a forgiving sport. Last year he had some very fortunate draws, made 2 slam finals and the world tour final. I think he knew this might be one of his best years and decided to enjoy his offseason. Cant blame him for that. His mediocre start to the year is the price that you have to pay.
 
Jack the Hack said:
I like Casper Ruud. He's got beautiful groudstrokes, he moves well, and he's pretty even tempered on the court. It also helps that he's a good looking dude and well spoken in interviews. Some of his mannerisms and the way he talks reminds me of my all-time favorite player, Mats Wilander. Obviously, Mats had another gear in his ability to win 7 slam titles in singles (and 1 in doubles) against the best of the 1980's players. However, I see some similarities the Ruud and Wilander's ability to grind.

Anyway, I feel like the slump that Ruud is in for the first part of 2023 is a combination of high expectations mixed with some burnout. 2022 was an epic season reaching 2 slam finals and coming within 1 match win of the #1 ranking. As he's said in interviews, he probably needed an offseason to rest and retool, but decided to take the cash and experience of touring around with Rafa in South America playing all those exhibitions in December.

At the moment, you can see the doubt and frustration in Ruud's eyes when matches are tight. He shouldn't have lost to BVDZ, letting that one totally get away. However, I suspect that he'll have a decent clay court season in Europe to get back on track.
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I think touring with Rafa was a good decision. Sure, it's hurt his performance on the hard courts. But it's a once in a lifetime experience to play that many matches with Rafa and might actually help him in the coming clay season so it will be interesting to see what happens to his ranking by the end of the clay season.
 
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