"I need to do everything opposite of what I’ve been doing for all my life": Casper Ruud continues to face inner crisis in latest Wimbledon exit

Casper Ruud in the years gone by has decided to go to The Weeknd and play golf and admitted after his latest Wimbledon exit that he is poor on grass for a reason.

Ruud exited the tournament on Monday following a three-set loss to former semi-finalist Hubert Hurkacz. He is yet to go beyond the second round at SW19 and has only won three main draw matches so far in his career.

He has won 11 games at the Australian Open, 14 matches at the US Open and 27 games at the French Open. He has also played 27 finals on the tour but none of those are grass.

He hasn't played a grass court event outside of Wimbledon and while he has since become a dad and celebrated his marriage, this remains the same.

“It’s tough because I feel like, for me to play well on grass, I need to do everything opposite of what I’ve been doing for all my life,” Ruud said.

“I need to don’t whip it (the ball) with so much top spin. I need to try to flatten it out. The movement is different.

“I don’t feel very comfortable moving on the grass. You tend to play a bit shorter rallies and this and that.

“It’s a question of how much you want to put into the grass season when it is that short. If it were eight weeks rather than four or five weeks, I would probably put more effort into becoming a more comfortable grass court player, but as it’s only one tournament of the year for me.”

The European clay is where Ruud has enjoyed most of his success and he is a two-time French Open finalist. The 27-year-old said too that his change to his grass court approach won't ever change.

“The clay season typically gets very intense. It’s a time when I play not the most of my matches in the year, but I tend to play a lot of matches if I do well, and it takes kind of a toll on the body and the mental part,” he said.

“After Paris, it’s nice for me to be able to kind of breathe out a bit and Just don’t think about tennis for at least a week or maybe two.

“It’s a nice halfway point when Roland Garros is over and a time to maybe reflect a bit on what’s happened and again some strength and motivation for the second part (of the season).”

“I’m not sure what the future brings, but if clay continues to be part of the season where I do well, I don’t see it likely for me to play too much leading up to Wimbledon.” He states.

“I do come here (Wimbledon) a week before to try to prepare and practice, so it’s not like I’m just like tanking or trying at all, but for me it’s the only time of the season that makes sense to do a little bit of time off after Paris.

“I’d rather play the tournaments after Wimbledon, a few more weeks in Europe before we head over to the US. That’s just the way I do it. I’m one of the few who does it but I’m fine sacrificing a tournament or two and maybe not feeling my absolute best here if I can kind of be fresher towards the last stretch of the season. We all we all love a challenge. It’s fun, but like frustrating at the same time because I cannot hit move or hit the ball the way I want to hear because it doesn’t give me an effect.”