"That's part of the sport, it's not fun": Ruud expected down period with plummet out of top 10 likely after US Open disappointment

Norway’s tennis star Casper Ruud has stated that he was mentally prepared for a down period this year.

The 24-year-old had a disappointing outing in the US Open where he was knocked out in the second round after losing to China’s Zhang Zhizhen in a five-set thriller with a score of 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 0-6, 6-2 on Wednesday.

Ruud, while talking to the media after the match, stated that he anticipated a difficult year after producing heroics in 2022 and was mentally prepared for such an outcome.

“It hasn’t been what I hoped,” said dejected Ruud. “But I was pretty honest after last year that I have to prepare for a tough year. Things last year went beyond my expectations for myself. Starting the year at world number three, I didn’t think that was going to be realistic when we started the year 2022. I prepared & talked openly that I’m expecting there would be some kind of down period. That’s part of the sport. It’s not fun.”

Talking about the positives in 2023, Ruud highlighted his performance in the French Open where he finished as the runner-up for the second time running. This time, he lost to Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 6-3, 7-5.

“This year, the highlight was Roland Garros,” he said. “Without Roland Garros, I’d be pretty disappointed with how the years been. But if you told me I’d reach the final of a Grand Slam this year. of course, are you going to say no? Or are you going to say yes, for sure. I’m very happy I got that result. But overall, in general, I’m disappointed with the other results.”

Ruud was pretty honest with his observation about his own performances in the last 12 months which cannot be described as great.

The Oslo-born suffered three second-round exits in the Grand Slams this year and the only time he managed to play in the third round or beyond was the French Open.