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AWESOME: Casper Ruud is ready for the third round of the French Open. Here’s Wednesday’s game against Tommy Paul. Photo: IAN LANGSDON / EPA
Christopher Clarey has been covering Grand Slam tennis for the New York Times for 30 years. He believes world number three Dominic Thiem (27) will be too tough for Casper Ruud (21) on Friday, but he has a lot of faith in the Norwegian.
– Casper is clearly a man who is climbing the charts. It’s exciting, Clarey tells VG.
– I see that Casper develops physically every time I see him and I like his game.
– What is your strength?
– Casper may not have special weapons, but he also has no special weaknesses. He’s consistently good at everything, says Clarey, who of course is at the French Open for the New York Times.
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– What do you say that he met Dominic Thiem?
– I’m saying Casper was unlucky with the tie. Dominic Thiem is perhaps in the shape of his life and is a favorite on the gravel here. Thiem, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are the worst opponents left here.
– The positive is that they test it against the best.
– What do you think of Ruud’s future?
– Looks brilliant. He is not a player who is going to be there for a season or two. This guy will be there for many years, he just had a bit of a rough draw in 2020.
– It’s funny that you Norwegians have produced such a good tennis player, says Clarey, who otherwise knows the Norwegian winter stars best after covering the Olympics in Lillehammer, among other places.
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Casper Ruud admits to Eurosport that this will be “one of the toughest matches of his career so far” to face Dominic Thiem in the third round of the French Open.
– It may be in the old days of his life, but I also want to show that I am in good ground shape, he tells Eurosport.
– I take the confidence from the good games I have played and I use it to my advantage.
– Fortunately, I’m a loser in that match and I’ll just go out there and enjoy it, says Casper Ruud.
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He had to have five sets against American Tommy Paul in a “roller coaster match” where the set numbers were 6-1, 1-6, 6-3, 1-6.
Dominic Thiem won his first Grand Slam title when he won the US Open just three weeks ago. Ruud’s best Grand Slam performance to date is that he has reached the third round three times: the French Open in 2019, the US Open in 2020, and now the French Open in 2020.
P.S. Eurosport Norway and Dplay begin broadcasting at 11:00 today.
