Happy to be back in Turin, Casper Ruud believes 'anything is possible' | ATP Tour

Happy to be back in Turin, Ruud believes 'anything is possible'

The Norwegian opens the team's competition and his season ahead of the Nitto ATP Finals

November 08, 2024

After missing the cut in 2023, Casper Ruud is set to return to the 2024 Nitto ATP Finals. The 25-year-old, who reached the semi-finals in 2021 and the final in 2022, is excited to see how things unfold in Turin.

“Anything can happen, [when] you have the best players in the world,” said Ruud, speaking to ATP Media before the match started on Sunday.

Making his third appearance at the prestigious Nitto ATP Finals, Ruud is relishing the opportunity to face the best in Turin. No. 6 Ruud, placed in the John Newcombe Group, and No. 2 Alexander Zverev, No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz, No.

“I will see a player in form, [has had an] a very good year,” said Ruud, opening for Zverev, who recently won his seventh ATP Masters 1000 title at the Rolex Paris Masters and climbed to the No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings. “He will be full of confidence, he just came out victorious in Paris. I will do my best to somehow stop him.

“[He has a] good serve, good backhand. When he plays with his forehand, it's really hard to play him. Because you feel like you're getting both shots [the] forehand and backhand. [I will] I tried to slow down his game as much as possible, but it will be difficult.”

The Norwegian will start his campaign against Alcaraz on Monday in the day session. Alcaraz, who has won four titles this season, leads the pair in the Lexus ATP Head2Head series 4-0.

“It's his job [is] just get close to celebrities,” said Ruud of Alcaraz. “I love to see him play, he is at a high level in sports. It doesn't mean that I always like to play with him because [he is] you are really difficult. Often there are happy moments. He's electric, he can hit any gun in the world.”

Talking about his best friend Rublev, Ruud said he looks up to the 27-year-old. “He just rips the ball from both sides. He is a kind person,” he said. “I looked up to him because he's a year older than me and he got to the Top 10 and started winning major tournaments before me.”

A strong start to the season propelled Ruud to third place in the PIF ATP Live Race to Turin at the end of Roland Garros in June, where he reached the semi-finals. Earlier this year, the 25-year-old won the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell and the Gonet Geneva Open, and reached the final of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

At the end of Roland Garros, the tour-level list of 12 times caught a parasite that interfered with his performance in the next few weeks. Struggling to regain his normal energy levels after illness and having collected few points throughout the season, he dropped to seventh place.

“I'm disappointed that I couldn't continue because I was in a good position to finish even more,” he said. [it] it didn't happen. I had a bit of a problem in the summer and fall. But it's okay. We are here, and that is the most important thing.”