"I'm happy that the match will not be played in Philippe Chatrier" - Casper Ruud on his chances of beating Rafael Nadal
Casper Ruud clinched the first singles match of the 2022 ATP Finals, defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime in straight sets.
After losing to Daniil Medvedev on his debut a year ago, third seed Ruud, who is attempting to advance to the semi-finals for the second consecutive year, strengthened his position with a victory over the Canadian, winning 7-6(4) 6-4
CASPER FOR THE WIN! 🔥
@CasperRuud98 defeats Felix Auger-Aliassime in his opening match at the #NittoATPFinals 💪 https://t.co/7a5inwEb08
In his post-match press conference, Casper Ruud was questioned about how to defeat Rafael Nadal, whom he would shortly face in the year-ending tournament. In response, the Norwegian said he didn't know the answer because he has not yet succeeded in defeating the Spaniard.
He added, however, that there is a possibility of him winning, as the match will not be a repetition of their French Open final on Philippe Chatrier, where Nadal is "unbeatable."
"I haven't been able to do it yet, so I'm not sure if I have the answer. I'm happy that the match will not be played in Philippe Chatrier in the final of the Roland Garros because he's unbeatable. Here at least people have beaten him before. I'm not saying this will change everything due to the fact that I consider maybe clay my favorite surface," Casper Ruud said.
The World No. 4 went on to say that he was expecting to put on a good showing against the 22-time Grand Slam winner by capitalizing on his underdog status and that he was very happy with his performance in the match against Felix Auger-Aliassime.
"I know that he will be very motivated because he has a lot to play for this week. I'm sure he knows that in the back of his mind. I will try to use the fact that maybe I'm the underdog. Let's see if I can put on a good match. I feel very happy and good with the level that I produced today. I hope I can keep it going in the rest of the matches that I play here," Ruud continued.
"He's a very nice guy, I hope he will be around for many years, that we can have many good matches" - Casper Ruud on Felix Auger-Aliassime
Casper Ruud also lauded his opponent Felix Auger-Aliassime, stating that the Canadian's feat of winning three tournaments in a row was "impressive." He also hoped Auger-Aliassime would be around for a long time so they could play more "good matches" together.
"He's very nice, very humble, very well-spoken, I would say. I'm very happy that he has sort of overcome the final aspect and being able to win many tournaments in a row. He won three tournaments in a row this fall, which is not very easy at all and very impressive," Ruud said.
"I hope he will be around for many years, that we can have many good matches," he added.