"You can never feel comfortable playing against Rafa, no matter what form he's in" - Casper Ruud ahead of his match against the Spaniard
Casper Ruud became the first player to qualify for the semifinals of the ATP Finals on Tuesday as he defeated Taylor Fritz 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(6) in two hours and 12 minutes.
In the process, the Norwegian ensured the year-end No. 1 ranking for Carlos Alcaraz after Rafael Nadal's elimination in Turin. Earlier in the day, Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime downed Nadal in straight sets to hand him his fourth consecutive loss on the tour. Auger-Aliassime and Fritz will fight for the second semifinalist spot from Group Green on Thursday.
Ruud is set to take on Nadal in their third round-robin match, though the outcome will not impact either of the players. In a post-match press conference yesterday, the Norwegian was asked about his chances against the Spaniard, given the latter's poor form. Ruud stated that regardless of the form and conditions, Nadal could never be counted out.
"You can never feel comfortable playing against Rafa, no matter what form he is in or what shape," Casper Ruud said. "I mean, he's had two tough losses here. Yeah, the match on Thursday is going to be quite different conditions than when we played in Roland Garros this year, that's for sure. It's faster. It's not best-of-five. It's on a hard court. Everything is different. But you can never count Rafa out. He has proven that many times."
The 23-year-old, who has been a student at the Rafa Nadal Academy in the past, added that it was always special playing against his idol and that he would like to finish with three wins before the semifinals.
"I'm sure he will seek some sort of revenge for his two losses and finish his ATP season in a good way. I will try to keep it rolling for the semifinals. It would obviously be a dream feeling to move out of the group with three wins. But the next one is probably going to be the toughest match in my career, due to the fact that he's also been my biggest idol for all my life. It's always going to be a little bit extra special to play against him," he added.
"I am sad for Taylor Fritz" - Casper Ruud after his win over the American
Casper Ruud beat Taylor Fritz 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(6) in his second round-robin match of the 2022 ATP Finals at the Pala Alpitour. The closely-fought match saw both players hit 36 winners each. The result could go either way at 6-6 in the third-set tie-break before Ruud prevailed.
In an on-court interview, the Norwegian sympathized with his Fritz but was elated to have reached the semifinals.
“Only a couple of points decide a match like this,” Casper Ruud said. “Fortunately for me, they went my way in the end. I was 5-1 up in the tie-break and he turned it around. He played some great points and hit some incredible winners to come back to 6-6. I hesitated a little bit at 6-4. There was a lot at stake. I am sad for Taylor, but I was so happy to see that last forehand sail long. To book my place in the semi-finals felt great.”