Losing the first four games of a match isn’t something Casper Rudd experiences very often but it has happened to him twice within the past month against the same player.
The Norwegian world No.8 was knocked out of the Italian Open by world No.1 Jannik Sinner who stormed to a 6-0, 6-1, win during their quarter-final clash. Going into the match an in-form Ruud was on a seven-match winning run after claiming the Madrid Masters trophy. However, he was no match against Sinner, who leads their head-to-head 4-0 without dropping a set.
Heading to the French Open, Ruud had an opportunity to get some revenge last Friday when he held a practice session with Sinner. But did he fare any better?
“We practiced yesterday (Friday) and he was up 4-0 in the first set after like 15 minutes again,” Ruud told reporters in Paris.
“I was thinking there’s something going on here. But after that, I got some games back.
“I think that you don’t look at him (Sinner) as a clay court player because he’s had great success on other surfaces, and he doesn’t play that higher or heavier topspin ball, but that doesn’t mean he can’t play well on clay.
“I think if you move well and are able to hit strong shots from defense as well on clay, it’s hard because when I played him if I tried to open the court, he was there, and he just kind of ripped it back. If I tried to play heavier and higher, he would take it on the rise and wouldn’t miss much.”
Ruud has won 12 out of his 13 ATP titles at clay court events and 128 matches on the surface since 2020 which is more than any other player during this period. He is a two-time French Open finalist and has won 23 matches at the tournament so far. The third-highest tally among the current top 10 after Novak Djokovic (96) and Alexander Zverev (34).
Despite this success, there is something about Sinner that continues to be problematic for Ruud. However, he has drawn important lessons from playing the Italian which he hopes will help him in the future.
“I realize that I can maybe also flatten out the shots a bit more every now and then on clay and not always wait for the ball to come down,” he explained.
“I can maybe step in a little bit more and take more balls on the rise and go for a little bit more, because what he showed me there was that this is definitely possible, even though it’s a higher bounce and slower on clay.”
Ruud will begin his latest French Open campaign on Monday against Spanish veteran Albert Ramos-Vinolas. He has reached the semi-finals or better at the event in his last three appearances.
