Casper Ruud believes taking a more aggressive approach to matches could be pivotal in his bid to regain consistency in his tennis.
The world No.4 has only managed to win back-to-back matches in one out of seven tournaments played so far this season which was at the Estoril Open where he won his 10th Tour title. Ruud has previously admitted that part of the reason for his lacklustre results is linked to his decision to play exhibition matches during the offseason instead of having a solid training block. An approach he says he is unlikely to do again.
Ruud’s recent inconsistency is a stark contrast to last year when he won 51 matches, reached two Grand Slam finals and finished the season inside the world’s top three. So what does the 24-year-old need to do to regain this form?
Speaking to reporters ahead of his first match in Madrid, Ruud believes he needs to dictate more during rallies and be less passive in order to compete alongside the best in the world. He has only played one top-20 player on the Tour so far this year which was in January at the United Cup where he lost in straight sets to Matteo Berrettini.
“If you look at the best players in the world, they play aggressive, they take control of the points and they take charge, and lately I think I’ve been sort of hoping a little bit too much for mistakes from the opponent,” Tennis Now quoted Ruud as saying.
Coming into this week’s Madrid Masters, the Norwegian plans to work more on taking risks and being unpredictable. He is a former semi-finalist at Spain’s more prestigious tennis event but last year he was knocked out in the second round by Dusan Lajovic.
“I think playing more aggressively, especially with my forehand, it’s what I rely on and my strength in my game to be on base on my forehand and I think I haven’t been able to play aggressive enough, or hit too many winners from that side lately,” he said.
“I think I need to step up a little bit and take some more risk, maybe throw in a drop shot here and there… I want to be a little bit more unpredictable maybe from that side and I think that’s something I will try to work on this week.”
Ruud’s intended changes to his game also involve the mental side of how he approaches matches. However, he points out that any adjustments will only be minor given his previous success in the sport.
“Everyone has their own game style,” Ruud stated. “Me, I just hate doing mistakes by overpowering, or going for too big winners. So that’s sort of something that I need to change, maybe a little bit mentally for me, to play a little bit more aggressive, take some more risk and go for some shots that I typically won’t,” he said. “At the same time, I’d like to think that the playing style that I have has taken me pretty far already – there’s no need to change too much other than trying to play with a little bit more dedication in the rallies and play a little bit more depth so that my opponents can’t attack me as much.”
Out of the 10 top seeds in this year’s men’s draw at the Madrid Open, Ruud has won the fewest matches so far in 2023 (11). He will play Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi in his first match.
