"He's the biggest athlete star we have in Norway; a lot of people are watching him" - Casper Ruud on Erling Haaland after reaching US Open quarterfinals
Casper Ruud has said that Manchester City striker Erling Haaland is the biggest athlete in Norway after beating Corentin Moutet on Sunday to reach the US Open quarterfinals.
Haaland, 22, is widely regarded as one of the best young footballers in the world. After amassing 86 goals in 89 games for Borussia Dortmund, the Norwegian arrived at Manchester City this summer, where he has hit the ground running. The striker has already scored 10 goals in six Premier League games, including back-to-back hat-tricks.
Meanwhile, playing in the second week in New York for the first time, Ruud conceded only three games in the first two sets. He squandered a break in the third set - which he lost in a tie-break - but recovered to close out a victory in four to become the first Norwegian player to reach the last eight at the US Open.
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Casper Ruud is into the quarterfinals of the #USOpen https://t.co/2BjKX5FNcx
At his press conference, Ruud said that he's not the biggest athlete in Norway, as winter sports and football are more popular than tennis. He added that Erling Haaland is the biggest "athlete star" in the country.
"We have winter sports that dominate, and we have a new pretty good football player ... Haaland. He's doing pretty good at the moment," he said. "I think he scored like 10 goals in four or five matches in the Premier League. He's the biggest athlete star we have in Norway, I think. A lot of people are watching him and the winter sports."
Ruud said that tennis is difficult to follow in Norway because of the different time zones in which he plays all over the world, but the sport's popularity is growing.
"Tennis is not always too easy for I think Norwegians to follow, because we play in different time zones in a different part of the world all the time," said Ruud. "It's not always easy to catch the right times to when I'm playing and all these things. But it's growing, and I'm happy that it is."
Ruud will take on Matteo Berrettini on Tuesday for a place in the last four.
"He's dangerous on all surfaces; I think this is probably one of his favourite tournaments" - Casper Ruud on Matteo Berrettini
Turning his thoughts to his quarterfinal opponent - Matteo Berrettini - Casper Ruud said that the Italian is a "dangerous" all-court player armed with "big weapons."
Matteo and Casper for a semifinal spot! 🤩 https://t.co/UMOx6k6L55
"He's dangerous obviously on all surfaces," said Ruud. "I think this is probably one of his favourite tournaments. He's done very well many years in a row. I remember when he sort of had his breakthrough and made semis here. He will throw big serves, big forehands. He has big weapons."
Casper Ruud has won three of his five matches against Berrettini but lost the pair's only hardcourt meeting in the 2020 US Open third round in straight sets. Berrettini made the semis at Flushing Meadows in 2019 and the quarterfinals last year.