ATP Miami: Casper Ruud fulfills a childhood dream with Finale
Not only is the final participation in the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Miami probably the greatest success in Casper Ruud 's career so far, but also the greatest success of a Norwegian in tennis ever.
by Stefan Bergmann
last edit: Apr 02, 2022, 03:36 pm
Norway is not exactly known as a stronghold of tennis. Although the Scandinavian country is considered a sports nation, Nordic and alpine winter sports and handball are more the focus of northern European top athletes. Tennis has had a shadowy existence since the beginning, which was only put into perspective a little by Casper Ruud's father Christian. The now 49-year-old ex-professional made it to 39th place in the ATP ranking and reached the round of 16 at the Australian Open once.
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With his son Casper Ruud, a Norwegian is now in the final of an ATP Masters tournament for the first time - the second major milestone for the up-and-coming man from Oslo after entering the top 10 in men's tennis last October. Reaching the finals in the US state of Florida fulfilled a childhood dream for Ruud - there is no doubt that more will follow.
"It's great to be a part of it now"
The 23-year-old said in an interview after the semi-final game against surprise man Francisco Cerundolo: "It means a lot to me. I'm still young and I always wanted to go here. Of course there are still the Grand Slams, but this is one on the biggest stages of our sport, you always want to do well there."
"I've been watching these finals on TV since I was a kid so it's great to be there myself. That's all I can say, I'm having fun and I'm hoping for a good game on Sunday," he said northerners further. However, the final against Carlos Alcaraz could be a completely different house number, as the only 18-year-old Spaniard is in an absolute high.