Former player and father of Casper Ruud reflects on his 2021 growth

The story of Casper Ruud is an interesting one as the Norwegian slowly but surely made his way to the top of tennis. Known as a clay-court specialist Ruud is slowly emerging as a complete player showing that he is more than capable of playing on other surfaces as well. In a talk with ATPTour.com his father reflected upon his rise:

"Everyone has compared him to me when he beat my records. I was in one ATP Tour final, and I was sad I didn’t win, but he is a lot better than I was. It is great to see him win titles and see him be the last man standing is special."

The most successful part of his 2021 year were three consecutive title wins in Bastad, Gstaad and Kitzbuhel. Speaking on that his father said:

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"It was then just amazing winning three titles in a row. He wanted to take the opportunity to do well because they were the last three tournaments on clay. To win all three is a little bit more than we expected. Of course, we are happy."

For Ruud, a crucial part of the season is coming with the Norwegian not defending many points. That will give him the opportunity to fight for a place in Turin if he does well. Asked what his goals were for the rest of 2021 his father said:

"It is to reach Turin and finish in the Top 10. He is focused on getting to the [Nitto] ATP Finals. Without clay, it may be a little bit tougher, but he can play well on hard courts, and mentally he is prepared. There are six big events left this season and we will try to do well in all these events."