"One of the greatest sports achievements in recent history" - Casper Ruud on Rafael Nadal's 21st Grand Slam triumph
Casper Ruud recently hosted a Q&A session with fans on Twitter. He answered a host of questions, including what he thought of Rafael Nadal's recent triumph at the 2022 Australian Open.
The Spaniard defeated Daniil Medevedev in the final at Melbourne Park after overturning a two-set deficit to win his 21st Grand Slam title. In doing so, Nadal overtook Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic to become the undisputed leader in the men's Slam race for the first time ever.
The Norwegian heaped praise on his childhood idol for the accomplishment. He went as far as to say that the victory was one of the "greatest achievements" in sporting history in recent times.
"Thoughts on Rafa鈥檚 win at the Australian Open?" a fan asked.
"One of the greatest sports achievements in recent history," Ruud tweeted.
@GameToLove_ One of the greatest sports achievements in recent history
This should come as no surprise for tennis fans. The World No. 8 took to Twitter immediately after the Mallorcan's triumph to tweet an emoji of a goat, implying that Nadal was indeed the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time).
馃悙
Another fan asked the 23-year-old what he considered the biggest moment of his career so far. Casper Ruud replied that it was his third-round victory over Marcos Giron at the 2021 Paris Masters that secured him his debut at the ATP Tour Finals.
"What's the biggest moment of your career and what is the most valuable thing you have learned on the Tour?" a fan asked.
"When I won my 3rd round in Paris Indoor Masters last year and qualified for the ATP finals must be the biggest moment of my career so far," Ruud wrote.
@stateofsport211 When I won my 3rd round in Paris Indoor Masters last year and qualified for the ATP finals must be the biggest moment of my career so far馃槉
The Norwegian reached the semifinals there, defeating Cameron Norrie and Andrey Rublev in the round-robin stage before losing to Daniil Medevedev at the penultimate hurdle.
Ruud also showed his funny side after a fan asked him his expectations from Wimbledon. The Norwegian jokingly remarked that the only plan he had was to win his first-round match.
"What's your expectations for Wimbledon this year? I have tickets booked for the quarterfinals," the fan said.
"Try to win 1 match," Ruud responded.
@LoliLondon Try to win 1 match馃槄
For reference, the 23-year-old is yet to win a single match at the Wimbledon Championships. In 2019, he suffered a defeat against ninth seed John Isner in his opener. In 2021, seeded 12th in the tournament, Casper Ruud succumbed to a a shock loss against Jordan Thompson in the first round.
"Clay is a surface with a lot of history so I鈥檓 fine with being called a clay court player" - Casper Ruud
One of the questions aimed at Casper Ruud was what he thought of being called a "clay court vulture," who won the bulk of his matches on a single surface.
The Norwegian handled it admirably, stating that he did not mind being called a "clay court player". In fact, the World No. 8 declared that he was proud to be part of the long list of players regarded as clay court specialists in history.
"What's your message to all your haters who say you're just a clay vulture?" a fan asked.
"I don鈥檛 mind it at all, clay is a surface with a lot of history so I鈥檓 fine with being called a clay court player," Ruud responded.
@lastdanceszn I don鈥檛 mind it at all, clay is a surface with a lot of history so I鈥檓 fine with being called a clay court player馃槉馃槈
Finally, Ruud picked the legendary Bjorn Borg when asked who his dream doubles partner was. He also revealed that his favorite football team is Liverpool and that his current favorite F1 driver is Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.
@DavisCup Borg馃嚫馃嚜馃嚦馃嚧
@scuderiacourt Yes, I hope Leclerc has his best season yet this year馃弾