Everyone says it in the tennis world, Casper Ruud is a nice guy. The kind of player so kind to the point of not wanting to spoil Rafael Nadal’s possible farewell to Roland-Garros. On Sunday, the Philippe-Chatrier court was clearly too big for the Norwegian, rolled and overtaken by the event for his first grand slam final lost in the big widths (6-3, 6-3, 6-0).
“I don’t think I realized that I was playing a final before entering the court. The stadium was full and it was quite difficult for me to be comfortable at the start. Then I felt better but it’s still a challenge. We play against Rafa, the one who has won the most Grand Slams. But it was worth trying. It was a very good experience, ”says the 23-year-old, already very happy to have reached the final.
“He destroyed me on the court, I couldn’t make him run enough”
For the rest Casper Ruud will never have really existed in this meeting. If he broke twice in the match, Nadal immediately broke him before a disastrous end to the match. While leading 3-1 in the second set, he will no longer score a game of the match (11 games conceded in a row) before losing in just over two hours. “He destroyed me on the court. I couldn’t get it to run enough. He was the one who played aggressively,” admitted Ruud, who never knew what to do with the Spaniard’s topspin balls.
However, the one who will become the sixth player in the world on Monday has no regrets about his first final at Roland-Garros, lost against his lifelong idol. “This game, I will never forget it for the rest of my career. It’s probably the most important game I’ve ever played. I’ve seen him on TV for 17 years and there it was me against him. It was a big challenge but it was very pleasant. I will be able to tell my children that I played in the final against Rafa sur le Chatrier”. Provided you hide the tape of the match for a long time.