Casper Ruud is experiencing an inconsistent 2023 season with 12 losses to players outside the top-50, jeopardizing his chances of making it to the ATP Finals and maintaining a spot in the top-10.
The Norwegian tennis player faced another unexpected defeat in his pursuit of the ATP Finals this week at the Swiss Indoors. In a hard-fought match, Casper Ruud couldn't overcome the challenge posed by 21-year-old world No. 96 Dominic Stricker, suffering a disappointing loss in the tournament's round of 16 despite entering as the second seed.
Ruud has not only exited many tournaments early during the season but also raises concerns about his current form, having lost to 12 players outside the top-50 this year. This is particularly troubling for a player who has maintained a top-10 ranking for over two years.
World No. 8 is running out of time to accumulate enough points to secure a spot in the ATP Finals, where he reached the final last year, facing defeat against Novak Djokovic. Despite his position in the rankings, he is currently 11th in the Race to the ATP Finals and is more than 450 points behind the last qualifier, Holger Rune.
With only the Paris-Bercy Masters 1000 tournament remaining, Ruud must leave behind his inconsistent year and advance to at least the semifinals. He will also need to rely on the results of other players who are ahead of him in the Race, such as Taylor Fritz, Hubert Hurkacz, and Holger Rune.
Compared to the past two years when Ruud reached the final of two Grand Slam events and maintained his status as a top-5 player, his performance has significantly declined after the clay season, where he reached the French Open final. However, the story was different in the other Grand Slam events of 2023, as he only managed to reach the second round in the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open.}
UPSET IN BASEL. 🇨🇭 Dominic Stricker beats Casper Ruud 6-4 3-6 7-6(1) to reach his 1st tour-level Quarterfinal since 2021 Tremendous composure from this 21 year old. ✅2nd top 10 win this year To pull off a win like this in front of his home crowd makes this even sweeter.
