"Both me and my dad wanted to get revenge": Casper Ruud says French Open 1R win over Felipe Meligeni Alves was 'worth the wait'
Casper Ruud shared his thoughts on his first-round win over qualifier Felipe Meligeni Alves at the 2024 French Open. He said this win felt like redemption for his father Christian Ruud, who had missed out on an ATP Tour title after losing to the Brazilian's uncle Fernando Meligeni in the 1995 Swedish Open final.
Ruud has had a good season so far, having won titles at the Barcelona Open and the Geneva Open, as well as making it to the finals at the Los Cabos Open, Mexican Open, and the Monte-Carlo Masters.
Seeded seventh, Ruud was initially set to face Jakub Mensik in the first round of the 2024 French Open. However, Mensik's withdrawal from the tournament led the Norwegian to play against qualifier Felipe Meligeni Alves in the opening round.
Ruud defeated Meligeni Alves 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 in just under two hours to move to the second round of the claycourt Major.
During the post-match press conference, Casper Ruud shared that he and his father Christian Ruud often discuss the matches against coaches and relatives of players that Christian competed against during his professional career.
Ruud mentioned that his victory over Meligeni Alves was particularly satisfying for his father, as it avenged Christian's loss to Fernando Meligeni at the 1995 Swedish Open in Bastad.
“Yeah, we talked about it for breakfast actually, because my father lost both that final one time in his career, so he was never able to win the ATP tournament. But yeah, the guy he lost the final to was Felipe's uncle," Casper Ruud said (via Roland Garros official website).
"So I think both me and my dad wanted to get some revenge on the Meligeni family, and yeah, it was worth the wait, I guess. It was many years that we had to wait, but we got it today," he added.
Christian Ruud won 12 titles in the Challenger Series in his career and reached one ATP Tour final — the 1995 Swedish Open. He had defeated the likes of Lars-Anders Wahlgren, Magnus Gustafsson, and Frederik Fetterlein to secure his place in the championship match, but lost to Meligeni in the final, with a score of 6-4, 6-4.
Casper Ruud will face Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in French Open 2024 2R
Casper Ruud will go up against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the second round of the 2024 French Open. The Spaniard defeated qualifier Valentin Vacherot 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, 7-6(2) in his opening round to move to the second.
Ruud and Davidovich Fokina have faced each other four times on the ATP Tour, with both players having won two matches each. Their first encounter took place at the 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals, where the World No. 7 emerged victorious with a score of 3-4(2), 4-3(2), 4-2, 3-4(2), 4-1.
Then they faced each other at the 2021 French Open, where Alejandro Davidovich Fokina claimed a hard-fought victory with a score of 7-6(3), 2-6, 7-6(6), 0-6, 7-5. They also met at the 2023 Canadian Open, where the Spaniard once again emerged victorious with a score of 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(4).
Their most recent clash came at the 2024 Miami Open, where Ruud turned the tables and secured a win with a score of 6-3, 6-4.
The upcoming match between Casper Ruud and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at the 2024 French Open will mark their fifth meeting on the ATP Tour.