"It's a big day" - Casper Ruud makes heartwarming mention of sister Charlotte on court after Barcelona Open win as she celebrates 18th birthday
Casper Ruud won the biggest title of his career at the 2024 Barcelona Open and was mindful of wishing his sister, Charlotte, a happy birthday after wrapping up his victory.
Ruud faced Stefanos Tsitsipas in their second ATP tour final in two weeks at the 2024 Barcelona Open on April 21. The pair competed for the Masters 1000 title at Monte-Carlo last week in which Tsitsipas comprehensively triumphed 6-1, 6-4. Looking to avenge that loss, Ruud began the title contest in Barcelona on the back foot after being broken in the first game.
However, he regrouped well to break Tsitsipas back twice to pick up the first set and broke the Greek again in the second set to emerge victorious 7-5, 6-3. Ruud earned 500 ranking points and took home $488,390 in prize money.
During the presentation ceremony, Casper Ruud remembered to send heartfelt birthday wishes to his young sister Charlotte, who turned 18 on April 21. Ruud was unsure if he could wish Charlotte, but he did it anyway and hoped to meet her in a few days.
"I'm not sure it's the right thing to do, but actually, it's my sister's birthday today, so I just wanna wish her a birthday back in Norway. She's 18, so it's a big day. Happy birthday Charlotte and I'll see you in a few days, so thank you," Casper Ruud said.
Charlotte Ruud, a professional tennis player herself, took to social media to congratulate Casper on his triumph in Barcelona and called his title the "coolest birthday present" she had received.
Casper Ruud's other sister, Caroline, also congratulated the former World No. 2 on his victory.
"My clever brother, congratulations," Caroline wrote on Instagram. (translated from Norwegian)
Casper Ruud is expected to next play at the Madrid Open 2024
Casper Ruud will have little time to celebrate his title win at the Barcelona Open as he is expected to compete at the Madrid Open which begins on April 26. He suffered an early exit at the Madrid Open last year, losing to Matteo Arnaldi in the second round.
The Norwegian will be seeded No. 5 this year and goes into the tournament with a lot of confidence after picking up his first silverware in over a year in Barcelona. More impressively, Ruud did not drop a set while defeating Alexandre Muller, Jordan Thompson, Matteo Arnaldi, Tomas Martin Etcheverry, and Stefanos Tsitsipas en route to the ATP 500 title.
Ruud has been in good touch on the ATP tour in 2024. The 25-year-old was runner-up at the Los Cabos Open, Mexican Open, and Monte-Carlo Masters and has won 25 matches on the tour this year, the most by any player, tied with the reigning Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner.