The Norwegian doesn’t seem to stand a chance against Novak Djokovic. If he uses them anyway, he would continue a pattern.
Legend:
Will he surpass himself this time in a big final?
Casper Ruud does not want to play the victim role against Novak Djokovic.
Keystone/EPA/Alessandro DiMarco
The conditions at the end of the season tournament for the best 8 players of the year were clear between 2003 and 2015. In the 13 events, only Argentinian David Nalbandian (2005) and Russian Nikolai Dawidenko were able to break the dominance of record winner Roger Federer (6) and Novak Djokovics (5).
At least 5 years ago, however, the pattern changed significantly: with Grigor Dimitrov (2017), Alexander Zverev (2018 and 2021), Stefanos Tsitsipas (2019) and Daniil Medvedev (2020), representatives of the next generation were able to lift the trophy.
While the “Big Three” with Djokovic, Federer and Rafael Nadal continued to set the tone at Grand Slam tournaments, the ATP Finals offered an opportunity for the extended top to win big titles.
Ruud encourages himself
If this logic continues, Casper Ruud should actually triumph this year. At the French Open and the US Open, the Norwegian was close to a major title this year, but failed in the final. Although Ruud (ATP 4) is better ranked than his opponent Djokovic (ATP 8), he sees himself as an outsider in the last game of the year in Turin.
He’s only human, too, and I’m sure he’ll feel a bit of pressure.
«Djokovic has won this tournament five times. I always watched on TV how well he played, »said the 23-year-old after his clear semi-final victory against Andrei Rublev. However, he also pointed out that the Serb recently lost the final in Paris-Bercy against Holger Rune. “He’s only human and will certainly feel a bit of pressure.”
Head-to-head speaks clearly for Djokovic
Ruud is the first Scandinavian since Stefan Edberg in 1990 to play in the final of the ATP Finals. Should he pull off the feat and defeat Djokovic for the first time in his career, he would end the year second in the world behind Carlos Alcaraz.
So far, however, he has not won a set in three games against the long-standing industry leader. Neither a year ago in Turin, when the two met in the group stage, nor in Rome, where he twice had to give way to Djokovic on his favorite surface, sand.
