"He was taking local anesthesia": Casper Ruud opens up about how Rafael Nadal won 2022 French Open despite foot injury

Norway’s Casper Ruud has opened up about how Spain’s Rafael Nadal defeated him despite having a foot injury during the final of the French Open 2023. The 25-year-old is one of those players who have been extremely lucky when it comes to big matches.

Ruud has played in the final of a Grand Slam on three occasions, but every time, he ended up on the losing side. One of those occasions came in 2022 while playing at the Roland Garros where he ended up on the wrong side of the result against Spain’s legendary tennis star Rafael Nadal who clinched his 22nd Grand Slam and 14th major title in Paris.

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Talking about it, Ruud explained how he was hoping to get the better of the former world number one in that encounter after knowing that he was struggling with a foot injury. "But the thing is in the finals, everyone knew he was injured in his foot," he said. "He was taking local anesthesia, every match, every training, for like 18 days, the days leading up to it. So you think like ‘Maybe today’s the day when he’s so much pain he can’t even walk!’"

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The Spaniard, who is also known as the ‘King of Clay’, ended up winning that contest in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-3, 6-0. Other than that, Ruud also lost in the final of the US Open in 2022 and the French Open in 2023. In the US Open, Spain’s young sensation Carlos Alcaraz, who is already regarded as one of the best players in men’s tennis in the singles category, emerged victorious with a score of 6-4, 2-6, 7-6, 6-3. In the French Open 2023, Ruud lost to former world number one Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in the final in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 6-3, 7-5.