The Rise and Challenges of Casper Ruud: A Quest for Big Titles

“He’s had some problems over the last six or seven months. He left the Top 10 a few weeks ago for the first time in a long time. It’s good to have him back there and I think that’s where he must be.” The release is by Casper Ruud who spoke on Sunday about the Stefanos Tsitsipas case, his executioner a few minutes earlier in the final in Monte-Carlo. It’s difficult to be more classy, ​​when a great title has just (again) slipped under your nose. But perhaps the Norwegian would benefit from sometimes toughening his tone to gain strength of conviction.

This image of a nice, smooth player undoubtedly also contributes to his status on the circuit, among his rivals and observers alike. Respected for his very high average level and his consistency, particularly on clay, Casper Ruud is not considered a top performer. However, few of his colleagues can boast of having come within two sets of becoming world number 1 on a summer evening at Flushing Meadows, of having made three Grand Slam finals (Roland-Garros 2022 and 2023, US Open 2023 ), two others in Masters 1000 (Miami 2022, Monte-Carlo 2024) and one at the Masters.

Between humility and obsequiousness, the line is sometimes very fine

But the Norwegian’s big problem is that he has not won any and has only won one set during these six major meetings. As if he himself did not feel in his place, which his own speech tends to confirm. “I have already accomplished more in my career than I thought were possible,” he admitted. “But when you do, you want to go further. A Grand Slam or a Masters 1000 would be great . I was in the final today (Sunday, Editor’s note), I couldn’t win, but I will continue to pursue this goal and progress. I have taken steps in this direction over the last six months. on a physical level too, I think we are doing the right thing and that we are in a positive trend.”

Certainly, Ruud almost always stumbled upon phenomena in his quest for big titles. Aside from Tsitsipas, whose credentials are already high, he fell to Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz. But he never completely let go, giving the feeling of accepting his inferiority. Against the Greek last Sunday, his non-match was all the more disappointing as he was coming off an exploit the day before on his own scale: he had never won a single set against one of the three best players in the world. before his victory against Novak Djokovic. But far from unwinding him, this performance perhaps made him even more tense.

Had he played his final before time? Ruud swore no in front of journalists, citing different, hotter and faster playing conditions to explain his lack of sensation. “Emotionally, I was ready. I woke up and said to myself, I’m going to try to win a big title… But I didn’t manage to perform well on the court. I made progress this week, but that didn’t happen. It didn’t go well today (Sunday). I set some milestones, I played well on clay and it was fantastic to be able to beat Djokovic. I hope I can get a lot of confidence from that. ‘Today (Sunday) maybe, but next time, in another big final, I will think about this victory against Novak and I will feel more confident.’

Ruud contained Djokovic and his timid revolt: the highlights

The drop shot is a shot that you must have in your repertoire and that I don’t have yet

Fourth in the Race ahead of Alcaraz, Ruud is objectively having a very good start to the season. But to make mental progress, he still misses the big victories. Talk to Jannik Sinner who gained confidence in particular in the wake of his first Masters 1000 coronation in Toronto last summer. At this stage, a first triumph in the ATP 500 – his 10 titles have been gleaned in the ATP 250 – would already do him a world of good, and why not this week in Barcelona. And to do this, the very solid Norwegian will perhaps have to expand his register, in order to surprise more in big matches. He himself is aware of this.

“One criticism that can be made about my game is, for example, not doing enough drop shots,” he noted in Monte-Carlo. “Jannik does them very well and Carlos does them perfectly, almost to every time. Djokovic hits them very well. It’s a shot that you have to have in your repertoire, which I don’t have at the moment. I have to consider working on it. perform with 100% power and lift, I manage to win the point seven or eight times out of ten. But if I do the drop shot, I only win the point four or five times out of ten. don’t see the point. But if I improve this move, I will be able to put it into practice.”

In addition to a sometimes perhaps exaggerated humility, Ruud shares with Nadal, his youth idol, a pronounced taste for work and an obsession with becoming better. This is perhaps its greatest asset in changing categories. After all, he’s still only 25 years old and there won’t always be monsters standing in his way.

2024-04-16 21:54:00
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