"Djokovic, Nadal and Federer not that much better" says a confident Ruud

The Norwegian is riding a wave of confidence that saw him win 4 titles in 2021 so far. Ruud emerged as one of th premier performers on clay with all 5 of his singles titles coming on the red dirt. He is fairly close of making his top 10 debut and is currently ranked 8th in the ATP Race to Turin.

All of that contributed to his immense confidence and asked what players he dreamed of beating one day he said:

“Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. It was more looking up to them. When you are young it is tough to believe you can be there yourself and beat them."

Ruud saw them as an inspiration growing up but he understands now that he can defeat them:

“They are more like an inspiration, but the older you get, the more you start to believe, and you get to practise with them sometimes. They are obviously better than you, but maybe not as much as you would maybe think."

Ruud who attended the Nadal Tennis Academy in Mallorca played Djokovic and Federer but never faced Nadal. He said:

"I was lucky enough to play Novak Djokovic and Federer once. When I went onto the court I went to try and win. You have to try and look at them as just another player you want to beat.”