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TENNIS IS FOR they are few in Norway and often a bit stigmatized. Like golf.
We do not understand the international level and breadth, at least not entirely.
We can’t appreciate a semi-final performance in Rome, at least not quite.
CASPER RUUD ER in my book, one of the best Norwegian athletes to date. Point. Johaug, Høsflot Klæbo, Thingnes Bø, Warholm, little brother Ingebrigtsen, goal machine Haaland or Ødegaard, come with whoever you want.
Casper Ruud is not after any of them.
Roger Federer is Casper Ruud’s Brazil
I see a 30th place in the world tennis rankings fighting Olympic gold, World Cup gold, Champions League, Bundesliga and Real Madrid, but these are not apples and apples.
It is, like everything else, a great sport.
A LOT HAS HAPPENED with Casper Ruud (21) since losing in three straight sets to Roger Federer (39) at Roland Garros on the last day of May 2019. Most importantly, he has improved a lot.
When Federer boasted about the best tennis player in Norway almost 16 months ago, Casper Ruud was number 63 in the world rankings, a young man with great potential.
After 5-7, 3-6 and praise, respect and recognition from world number one Novak Djokovic (33) after the semifinals in Rome, Casper Ruud is on his way to becoming one of the best gravel players in the world.
Shit in Norway, Casper, we can’t slap
BETWEEN PARIS 2019 and Rome 2020, Casper Ruud broke barriers, moved borders and made great strides.
- In February of this year he won his first ATP tournament (250) in Buenos Aires.
- The victory in Argentina brought Casper to 34th in the world rankings, for the first time ahead of Papa Christian’s best records (39) of 1995 and 1997.
- At the US Open in early September, a venue where he was previously knocked out twice in the first round (hard court), he moved on to the third round.
- In the quarterfinals in Rome (gravel) he beat a top 10 player in the world (Matteo Berrettini) for the first time in his career.
- The victory over Berrettini led Casper Ruud to his first semi-final in an ATP 1000 tournament.
- There he took his game to a new level, upsetting world number one Novak Djokovic with his deadly forehand and had two set balls at 1-0.
ROGER FEDERER OG Novak Djokovic recognizes a good tennis player when he meets one. They don’t praise Casper Ruud for being nice, this is not a gentleman’s thing.
They do it because they mean it.
What Federer experienced in the third set in Paris 2019, Djokovic felt in significantly greater doses this Sunday in Rome.
From now on, Casper Ruud’s development will focus on what makes good tennis players the best.
Roser Ruud
KEY WORDS ON THE ROAD it’s precision, variety, and mental toughness. In the three words you will find the trinity of tennis. There is a lot there. You see it in close matches, in games that can lean both ways, and in crucial balls that Casper Ruud went 1-0 in sets against Novak Djokovic.
When the cliff is separated from the wheat, it is precision, variety and mental strength that follow the experience, for the simple reason that you have been in these situations so many times before, which are the tools.
IT IS NOT possible to hold something against Casper Ruud’s right. He is deadly and belongs to the upper echelons of the world. Your courage and greed, because it is important to take risks, especially against the best, is also where it should be.
The backhand, on the other hand, against which Djokovic could be seen directing his punches, all to escape Casper’s strong forehand, has a lot to do when the best in the world is on the other side of the net.
Like the variety and use of the game’s many tools.
SINES CASPER RUUD be far ahead mentally. It’s hard for him to be so young. The decisive balls that won the quarterfinals in Rome confirm this. The 2-2 game in the second set against Djokovic, when the Serbian gave the go-ahead to the Norwegian, is another test. And the more often you play at this level, the more often you have to land bad shots, play and look back, restart and think ahead; the harder it will be mentally.
The tools you will use in combat can be practiced and developed in training.
Mental strength is challenged first in battle.
Federer was 18 at Casper in Paris, Djokovic was 12 in Rome.
To be continue ………..
