Casper Ruud has shrugged off the suggestion that his early exit from the Australian Open was partly due to his off-season commitments which saw him travel across South America to take part in a series of exhibition matches.
The world No.2 was knocked out of the tournament by American talent Jenson Brooksby 6-3, 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-2, in what is his earliest loss at a major event since Wimbledon last year when he also lost in the second round. Ruud has only won back-to-back matches at Melbourne Park twice out of his four appearances so far in his career. Following the exit of Rafael Nadal on Wednesday, it is the first time the top two seeds have failed to reach the third round of the Australian Open since 2002.
“It was a tough match out there. In the third (set) I was able to come back from set points down and saved some set points in quite a way. I felt like I was working my way into the match but I had a poor start in the fourth,” said Ruud.
“Then Jenson clipped some great returns and clean return winners on my serves. Got a couple of breaks. I couldn’t recover from that, unfortunately. I gave it my all, but in the fourth set especially wasn’t enough.” He added.
Whilst there is high admiration for Brooksby’s performance, Ruud is now facing questions over his preparations for the 2023 season. Unlike most of his peers, he has decided to conduct a training block next month instead at the end of last year. Instead, after the 2022 ATP Finals he flew straight to South America to play a series of exhibition matches against Nadal. He returned to Norway on December 3rd before leaving two days later to have a holiday in the Maldives. The only training block he managed to get was in Abu Dhabi where he did four days of practice, as well as participating in the Mubadala World Tennis Championships.
The 24-year-old was then knocked out in the first round of the ASB Classic earlier this month by Serbia’s Laslo Dere before arriving at the Australian Open. Despite the disappointing results, Ruud says he has no regrets about his off-season commitments.
“It’s very easy to sit here now and say that was bad for both Rafa and me due to the fact that we lost early here,” he said.
“At the same time, I see no reason why we couldn’t have a good Australian Open or made better results down here. I think it’s coincidental sometimes.’
“I think I have realized that there are, in my eyes, so many players these days that you will have a chance to beat many players on tour, and there’s a chance you will lose to many players on tour. The margins are small these days, and I just realized that even though I don’t feel like a worse player or that I’m in physically worse shape than I was during the US Open, for example. That’s how it is sometimes.”
As for 22-year-old Brooksby, it is only the second time in his career has defeated a top-five player on the Tour in what is his Australian Open debut. The American was in impressive form as he fired 50 winners and overcame a blip in the third set where he failed to convert two match points before steamrolling his way through the fourth set en route to victory.
“I think it’s fun to watch him because it (his tennis) looks very different for many players,” Ruud said in tribute to Brooksby.
“It’s a tough matchup for me, and I know it’s going to be for many years probably. I will try to learn from it. I think that he played great today.”
It is the fourth time in his career that the American has reached the third round of a major event. He will next play compatriot Tommy Paul who knocked out 30th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in five sets.
As a result of Ruud’s loss, there are two players who can now dethrone Carlos Alcaraz from the No.1 spot. Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas can rise to the top of the standings if they win the title.
