"I walked into a club and saw him there — we both just burst out laughing" - Casper Ruud reminisces how he met Taylor Fritz in a Las Vegas club while touching on life as a dad

Casper Ruud has recently been enjoying becoming a father for the first time amid a busy tennis schedule. He talked about the joys of changing his baby's diapers, what Winter Olympic sport he would partake in along with when he bumped into Taylor Fritz in a Las Vegas nightclub.

He discussed this and more on the Nothing Major Show with former professional American tennis players John Isner and Steve Johnson. Ruud is set to travel to the states to compete in the Delray Beach Open after withdrawing from the Dallas Open. He has his eyes on the upcoming Sunshine swing like many other top tennis players, but first he will be battling it out for $1 million in the MGM Slam, something he was looking forward to while also being in a good place preparation wise.

"Yes, I’m as ready as I can be," he began. "One thing that speaks in my favour is that I practice a lot indoors. Half the year in Norway is indoor tennis, so that should help. It’s kind of in between Acapulco and Indian Wells, which are big outdoor events, but it should be really fun."

It is not the first time the three-time Grand Slam finalist has competed in Vegas, albeit this time will be much more different. "I’ve actually played a tournament in Vegas before — a Challenger at the UNLV campus — so I do have some experience playing tennis there. Of course, this event will be very different from grinding it out outdoors at the college courts, especially with the wind. But this is indoors, big night, big prize money, and a lot of great players."

The last time Ruud was in Vegas it was completely different reasons to tennis. "I wasn’t playing tennis in Vegas last time, but I’ve been there for both business and pleasure. This time it’s business, so hopefully I don’t go too deep into the casinos. I’ll try to avoid that."

He was fond of the gambling, which is notorious in Vegas. He had his preference of games that he would indulge in. "Typically blackjack and a game called Ultimate Texas Hold’em. It’s a poker variation. They don’t have it everywhere, but in Vegas you can find pretty much anything."

It has already been a wonderful year for the Norwegian who welcomed his daughter into the world. It was a bit touch and go on whether he would make it or not, with it possibly intertwining with him competing in the Grand Slam Down Under.

"Maria and I decided to give Australia a chance and agreed that if she went into labour, I’d make my way home as soon as possible," he stated. "Maybe I wouldn’t be there for the exact moment, but I’d be home within a day or two."

The flight from Australia to Norway was obviously not going to be an easy one, with Ruud constantly thinking of possible escape routes. "I looked at all the flights. There were a few one-stop options — Melbourne to Bangkok to Oslo, or through Dubai or Doha. About 25 hours of travel. The scary part was if the call came at midnight and I had to wait until 3 p.m. the next day for the next flight. That would have been painful."

Every morning I was a bit nervous something might happen overnight. But there were manageable options. I would have been about a day late, not two days late. In the end, everything worked out.

Fortunately, nothing went wrong. "Luckily, everything worked out perfectly. I’m just super happy that everything went well with both Maria and our daughter. Honestly, no match or tournament will ever compare to being there and welcoming a new human being that you helped create. It was a huge emotional moment — a big victory for us."

He may be putting his tennis career to one side to an extent to focus on his kid but it is definitely more worth it for the 27-year-old who placed it above winning a tennis title. "We compare everything in tennis to wins and titles, but this was definitely a bigger win. I’ve had a few extra days at home after Australia, which has been great. But now it’s time to get back to work and try to feed her."

While changing diapers is a big step from competing against the best players in the world, he is still relishing the experience. "I’ve changed diapers. We didn’t really take baby classes — that feels more like an American thing," he commented. "Some friends did parenting yoga and breathing exercises, but I didn’t have time for that. So far she’s just eating, sleeping, and having diaper changes. It’s been a different routine, but it’s fun."

It is a familiar site to see Ruud on court with a headband, synonymous to him. However, it was an unfamiliar site in Melbourne with him not boasting it on his head.

He was quick to clear up why. "I know you don’t like when players take off their headbands and shake hands with the same hand. I thought about that," he joked. "But honestly, I cut my hair pretty short in the offseason, so I didn’t really need it."

He was also complying with the strict rules implemented at such tournaments. "Also, at Grand Slams you’re not allowed to wear a logo on your headband like you can at ATP events. So that was part of it."

Like a lot of the world, Ruud is gripped to his TV following the action from Milan and Cortina with the sporting action continuing to come thick and fast. Norway are always global threats in these games, picking up a decent amount of silverware so far to the delight of the Norwegian number one tennis player.

"Definitely," he answered when asked if he was watching it. "I watched the women’s downhill this morning. Norway does well in cross-country skiing — there are so many medals available there. It almost feels unfair sometimes. It’s fun to sit at home and watch other athletes compete. It’s nice that Norway is competing at almost any time of day."

Tennis may not be on the minds of many Norwegian citizens, with the arctic climate and colder temperatures lending itself to the perfect habitat for winter sports. Ruud did not go down this pathway, but he did admit a liking to a couple of events if he would have gone this route.

"Growing up in Norway, you try pretty much everything," he said. "I wouldn’t say ice hockey — it’s too brutal. I’d probably go with downhill skiing, maybe slalom. The really fast downhill looks scary, but slalom is a lot of fun."

The conversation inevitably ended going back to Las Vegas, where Ruud was tasked to come up with three names of tennis players he would like to go out with from the MGM Slam field.

One of them was easy from a prior coincidental meeting. "When I was there for my bachelor party, I randomly ran into Taylor Fritz during an F1 weekend. I walked into a club and saw him there — we both just burst out laughing. So I’ve already partied in Vegas with him."

He concluded by stating the other two names. "I’d probably go with Gaël Monfils — he has to join — and then Taylor and Tommy Paul. That would be a good trio."