Nadal, Federer and Djokovic's retirement will lead to more Slam winners in the future, says Casper Ruud
Norwegian tennis sensation Casper Ruud has shared his thoughts on the tennis world in the absence of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic. He stated that the younger generation of tennis players will have a better chance of winning a Grand Slam.
Ruud himself came very close to winning two Grand Slam singles titles in what was a breakthrough season for him. He reached the final of the French Open and the US Open in 2022, both of which he lost to Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz, respectively. He also reached the summit clash of the ATP Finals but was defeated by Novak Djokovic
Despite these setbacks, the World No. 3 clearly did not give up the dream of winning a Major. He revealed the same in the latest episode of "Ruud Talk" with Eurosport.
Roger Federer has already retired and Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are moving towards the end of their careers. In the wake of that, Ruud believes the younger generation, including himself, will have a better chance of winning a Grand Slam in the future.
"The amount, if you ask me, of talent around on the tour these days is great, and I think more players will have the opportunity and chance to win Grand Slams in the future than what we have seen the last 17 or 18 years," Ruud said.
"It also gives me a lot of motivation for next year, knowing that I've been close to actually get it" - Casper Ruud on his 2022 US Open loss
Casper Ruud discussed his 2022 US Open final match against Carlos Alcaraz. The Spaniard defeated the Norwegian in a four-set thriller to claim his first major title.
With that in mind, the 23-year-old stated that losing in the final gives him a great deal of motivation for the coming year. This is despite the fact that the odds of a player winning a Grand Slam in his career are not very great.
"That was the most enjoyable final because I was the closest. But at the same time I'm getting sometimes these flashbacks like 'oh, I wish I had one, because it would be a completely different story'. But it also gives me a lot of motivation for next year, knowing that I've been close to actually get it, if that's ever going to be that I reach number one in the rankings, who knows?" Casper Ruud said.
"The odds are not very positive that the player is going to make the world number one, and the odds are not very great of a player winning a Grand Slam in his career. But I was close this year, and it gives me a lot of motivation to work even harder and hopefully being another fun let's see what happens then," he further added.