Wow Marcos Giron wins the last four games to beat Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-4 and reach the QFs in Tokyo. Gets Auger-Aliassime on Friday. Ruud’s Turin chances not looking great. Was runner up in 2022.
"I'll keep my head high": Casper Ruud stays hopeful in face of dwindling ATP Finals chances
ATPThursday, 19 October 2023 at 14:25
Casper Ruud has said that he remains hopeful despite his dwindling chances of qualifying for the ATP Finals in Turin after his second-round defeat at the Japan Open this week.
The World No. 8 saw success earlier in the season, winning the Estoril Open in April and reaching the final of the French Open in May. However, Ruud has had a difficult time on the ATP Tour since then, suffering a string of early defeats.
Most recently, he lost his second-round match against Marcos Giron at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open in Tokyo. Following this defeat, the Norwegian player faced the fact that his chances for qualification to the ATP Finals in November had reduced significantly.
Ruud suggests defeat was a wake-up call
Ruud currently sits tenth in the live race to the ATP Finals, with only eight spots available. He is just under 200 points behind ninth place Taylor Fritz who also lost his second-round match in Tokyo and 300 points behind Holger Rune who has also been struggling as of late.
Ahead of them are Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Andrey Rublev, who lie in seventh, sixth, and fifth place respectively. Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, and Jannik Sinner have all qualified for the season-ending championships.
After his match in Tokyo, Ruud reflected on the upset and what it meant for his ATP Finals chances going forward.
"I tried to play the same level as I did yesterday - maybe I wasn't able to but it's OK, it's not always easy to shift from one day to the other with different opponents. I wasn't able to be ready enough for his game and counter his game," he said.
The former World No. 2 also admitted that he had been hoping for a better result at the tournament but he would continue fighting for a place in Turin.
"Maybe not what I was really hoping for and kind of what I needed," he said.
"But there's still a couple of weeks to go and I'll keep my head high and try to fight in the last couple of weeks of the year," the 24-year-old continued.
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