by Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
Casper Ruud has reached three major singles finals. He lost his first at Roland Garros in 2022 to Rafael Nadal. He lost his second at the U.S. Open to Carlos Alcaraz. Now he lost his third in the 2023 Roland Garros final to Novak Djokovic. After leading by a service break 4-2 in the first set, Ruud was unable to sustain in his 7-6 (1), 6-3, 7-5 loss. The win gave Djokovic his men’s record 23rd major singles title, moving him past Rafael Nadal, who won his 22nd major singles title beating Ruud in Paris just a year ago.
Ruud put the match in immediate perspective in his post-match interview with University of Georgia graduate Maria Taylor of NBC Sports.
Said Ruud, “I think I started well, maybe the best start that I had, and then unfortunately stumbled on the break back there at 4-2. And then the first set was really tough, both tennis-wise, physically it was close to one hour and 20 minutes or so. Novak is just not human sometimes. It’s just scary how good he can play and how well he reads the game, how much he sort of makes you work for every point. So yeah, it was tough. I’m a bit disappointed that I let him sort of get away in the second set. I wasn’t able to keep it close in the beginning and then just did my best from there. I mean, what else can you do? I mean, of course there are always some things here and there that you can try to change and do better, but in the end I had a game plan. It worked well in the beginning, but then he sort of had the answers and was just too good in all the sets.”
Taylor, then asked Ruud about the aura of the fact that Djokovic was gunning for his 23rd major singles title and how that historic achievement hovered around the match.
Said Ruud, “Well, I mean was maybe hoping he would feel the pressure, be a little nervous, but at the same time he has probably more motivation than ever playing to get a new record 23 Slams is just a ridiculous number. And yeah, it’s tough to describe how incredible it is. It’s another day of history in the tennis world. And he has set the bar high now. And yeah, it’s inspiring to see how much someone can achieve in a career.”
