Nick Kyrgios joins fan in mocking Casper Ruud after Norwegian's Australian Open 2023 exit
Second seed Casper Ruud's 2023 Australian Open campaign came to an end after American Jenson Brooksby stunned him in the second round of the tournament.
Brooksby took the lead early on, winning the first two sets.The Norwegian fought back, saving three match points and winning the third set tie break. However, Brooksby turned the match around again in his favor and came out on top 6-3, 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-2.
The news was shared on social media, with the caption:
" Huge performance @jenson_brooksby earns the first top 3 win of his career!," read the post.
Some fans reacted that while it was a well-deserved win by Brooksby, the World No. 3 was not at his best. Others took the opportunity to fuel his rivalry with Nick Kyrgios, making a special reference to the time when the Aussie defeated Casper Ruud in straight sets at Indian Wells last year.
"Ruud is the most overrated player in the top 10. @k1ngkyrg1os toyed with him like he was playing an under 12s junior. It was sickening scenes," read the comment.
Kyrgios was quick to join in with a laugh-till-you-cry emoji. Fans on social media have often expressed that they miss the temperamental player on-court at the tournament.
"I hope it's nothing serious, but it does come a little bit back here and there sometimes"- Casper Ruud on facing abdominal pain during his R2 exit at the Australian Open
In a post-match press conference following his second-round exit at the Australian Open, Casper Ruud spoke about experiencing abdominal pain, for which he took a medical timeout during the match.
The second seed revealed that it was something that had been bothering him for the past two years but was manageable with physiotherapy.
"Yeah, it's a little tension and some slight pain in my abdominal. It's something that has actually been with me for around two years, the last two years since I got a strain here two years ago in the fourth round," he said. "Just releasing it with the physios can help a little bit. It just sort of tightens up my left side from serving."
He stated that it is not very serious and that he will be able to take care of it "long term hopefully."
"It didn't affect me a lot, but I felt it a little bit in the second set. In the third and fourth I was able to serve a little more freely, and feel better in the ab," he added. "I hope it's nothing serious, but it does come a little bit back here and there sometimes, so I need to take care of it and hope that I can sort of get rid of it for a long time hopefully now."