Casper Ruud and the search for self-confidence
Casper Ruud also suffered an early defeat at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Miami. The Norwegian is looking for confidence ahead of his beloved clay court season.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Mar 29, 2023, 04:45 pm
Casper Ruud will by no means be satisfied with the previous record of five wins and six defeats in the tennis year 2023. Because after such a strong previous season, in which he reached the finals at both the French Open and the US Open, the Norwegian actually wanted to take the next step in the current season.
Actually. After the first quarter of the new year, it must first be said that Ruud was not able to improve. On the contrary. The 24-year-old is losing matches these days that he would have easily won in 2022. This also applies to the third round match at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Miami, where Ruud lost to Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp in three sets. And left no less than 13 breakballs unused. It is obvious: the two-time major finalist is currently acutely lacking in self-confidence. No wonder, since he has never won two matches in a row this season.
After all, Ruud playfully showed an upward trend in Florida. "Not the result I came here for, but I'm happy to be back at a good level," wrote last year's Miami finalist on Instagram. The fourth in the world rankings does not yet have to fear a fall, only Daniil Medvedev could displace him to fifth place with a tournament win in Miami.
In the race to the ATP Finals in Turin, where Ruud was also in the final last year, things look very different: he is currently only in 81st place there. The good news: his beloved clay court season is now waiting for the Scandinavian. The bad news: In the coming months, Ruud has numerous points to defend, not least because of his two final appearances in Paris and New York.