2023-05-24 07:59:34
Double title holder, Casper Ruud approaches the Geneva Open with newfound confidence. His semi-final in the Rome Masters 1000 put him back in the right orbit at the right time.
“I lived 4-5 difficult months”, recalls the world No 4, “while the last 4-5 months of the previous season had been incredible: I had reached the final of three of the five most important tournaments in the world. ‘year’ at Roland-Garros, the US Open and the ATP Masters. And he had risen to 2nd place in the world.
“So I know perfectly well what I am capable of. But everything can go very quickly in tennis. We all have ups and downs, and the start of the 2023 season was one of the most difficult periods of my career” , continues the Norwegian, who has won only four matches in his first five tournaments of the year.
Did he feel any particular outside expectations following his superb 2022 fiscal year? “If we start thinking regarding the expectations that the media may have, for example, we won’t get far,” he underlines. “But it’s true that it can become stressful if you can’t reproduce the same results,” he concedes.
The return to clay did him the greatest good, since he picked up the title in his first tournament of the year on this surface in Estoril at the beginning of April. But this coronation, his 10th in total on the main circuit, did not act as a trigger: he won only two matches in his next three tournaments.
“I think the hardest part is now behind me,” said Casper Ruud, who was indeed fully reassured by climbing into the last four in Rome the previous week. Even if he certainly regrets not having been able to drive home the point once morest Holger Rune in the semi-finals, he who led 7-6 4-2.
“Too stressful” in Paris this week
Despite this newfound confidence a week before the start of Roland-Garros, the Norwegian did not think for a second of “zipping” the Geneva Open in order to keep some under the pedal. “At Roland-Garros, there are qualifications this week, with 128 players and 128 players in contention. It’s far too stressful,” he explains.
“I take advantage of being here in peace. I prefer to play official matches rather than training sets. And if I miss myself here, I can always go to Paris to train there before the start of Roland-Garros”, let go of the one who is also the double title holder of the Gstaad Open.
“I saw last year that it was possible to shine here while keeping enough freshness to go far at Roland-Garros”, as a certain Stan Wawrinka had already proven in 2016 (title in Geneva, half -final in Paris) and in 2017 (title in Geneva, final in Paris). “And I love coming to Geneva,” he smiles.
“It all started here two years ago for me, I had won the second title of my career there. I’m also comfortable in Gstaad by the way. Switzerland is a beautiful country, and if the good weather is in the game, the setting is magnificent here. It reminds me a bit of Norway, so I feel very good there”, says Casper Ruud.
The Norwegian, who will compete on Wednesday in Geneva in the second round, is therefore very happy to resume his good habits in the City of Calvin. Where he hopes to be able to further increase his capital of confidence in order to approach in the best dispositions a Roland-Garros which promises to be very open in the absence of Rafael Nadal.
“Sad for Rafa”
“I’m sad for Rafa. His record of 14 titles in Paris is one of the most incredible in all sports,” said Casper Ruud. “It offers an opportunity to others. But Novak (Djokovic) has already won twice in Paris while Rafa was in the game. He will therefore be the favourite,” he said.
The outsiders will however be numerous on the clay courts of the Porte d’Auteuil. “There is Crlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Holger Rune, Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev who has just won in Rome. And myself,” smiles the Norwegian, who now knows he is capable of overthrowing mountains in the tournaments of the Grand Slam.
This article has been published automatically. Source: ats
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