ATP: Casper Ruud - The curse of the South America trip?
The start of the 2023 season has not gone well for Casper Ruud . Did the Norwegian go on holiday too late after last year's successful campaign?
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Feb 06, 2023, 10:59 pm
Casper Ruud playfully took the Davis Cup weekend off. It was clear at the moment when the name of the two-time major finalist was not entered on the match sheet that Norway would have little chance of making it into the intermediate round in September against the Serbs who had traveled without Novak Djokovic and without top man Ruud.
Ruud, the notorious frequent player, who had a record of 51:22 individual matches last year, was only on the court for five games in 2023. He only won two of them: easily against Thiago Monteiro at the United Cup. And with some problems against Tomas Machac at the Australian Open. In the very next match in Melbourne, the bitter end came against Jenson Brooksby, in a game that a Ruud in top form after winning the third set would probably have turned around for good.
Ruud with Nadal on South American tour
Why isn't things running so smoothly again with the current number four in the world? Marion Bartoli, the 2013 Wimbledon winner, made a guess in the Match Point podcast that you could learn a lot about. That Ruud didn't do well on the South America tour with Rafael Nadal.
"He went on this tour and then took his vacation when the new season actually started again," said Bartoli. "He didn't have time to prepare." Which was also reflected in Ruud's expectations for the first major of the year. "He said very early on that he would only travel to the Australian Open because it's a Grand Slam tournament. And that he would prepare for the season after the Australian Open. I can't remember ever hearing that from a player."