Casper Ruud: The former Rafa Nadal Academy trainee with a sledgehammer forehand

Casper Ruud has received six titles on tour – 5 of them on clay and two of them this 12 months. He is ranked as excessive as World No.8, changing into the primary participant from Norway to make the highest 10 of the world rankings.

The 23-year-old has rapidly change into some of the dependable claycourters round for the time being, however regardless of all of that, few would have picked him to make the ultimate at Roland Garros this 12 months.

Ruud navigated a number of difficult assignments on his approach to the ultimate. He first needed to overcome French tennis legend Jo-Wilfried Tsonga – who was taking part in the ultimate occasion of his profession – in a supremely emotional encounter.

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His quarterfinal was in opposition to 19-year-old Holger Rune, who dumped one of many match favourites Stefanos Tsitsipas out of the fourth spherical and he later took on Marin Cilic, who defeated fellow Russians and high 10 seeds Andrey Rublev and Daniil Medvedev.

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Each of those victories had been in 4 units, and for a participant who has little best-of-five expertise, this illustrates how his claycourt consistency on tour – final 12 months, he grew to become the primary man in 10 years to win three consecutive titles in as many weeks – has translated to success at Majors.

Success on clay

For a lot of his profession, Ruud has been thought of a specialist on the pink grime. While he did win a hardcourt title eventually 12 months’s San Diego Open, a lot of his sport is tailormade for clay. Ruud’s footspeed and court docket protection is stable, and the depth of his groundstrokes permit him to dictate the longer baseline exchanges.

But, the Norwegian’s most distinct menace is a sledgehammer of a forehand, which he employs with a ton of spin permitting the ball to bounce very excessive and push his opponent to the again of the court docket. The shot’s adaptability and flexibility have an enormous function to play, and it’s what units him aside from different claycourt specialists, maybe additionally explaining his stable outcomes on different surfaces.

When wanted, the 23-year-old is ready to flatten his forehand and chase extra exact angle. When he runs round his backhand to hit the shot inside-out, he is ready to discover the depth and low web clearance to persistently hit winners.

Rain is forecasted in Paris on Sunday, and in that case, with the roof going up and the humid situations kicking in, Ruud’s potential to flatten his forehand when required could nicely give him an edge.

Student vs Master

The undeniable fact that Ruud’s largest weapon is his forehand could have one thing to do along with his childhood idol – the person he can be going toe-to-toe with for the very first time at Court Philippe Chatrier on Sunday.

“It was worth the wait (to play Nadal). As a Grand Slam final, it will be a special moment for me, and hopefully for him as well,” Ruud mentioned on court docket after his semifinal win.

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About that assembly with Rafa 😍@CasperRuud98 | #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/4fSnqJjQ1K

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 3, 2022

Every time Nadal takes on one of many higher younger claycourters on tour, the headlines are invariably dominated by the long-drawn-out narrative of the grasp taking up the most recent upstart. The unprecedented king of clay taking up the most recent prince in ready – be it Dominic Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas, or Carlos Alcaraz.

This time round, nonetheless, it will likely be arduous to stray away from that storyline, provided that Ruud is definitely a disciple of the Spaniard. Since earlier than he broke into the highest 100 on tour, the 23-year-old had been to the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, run by the Spaniard’s former coach and uncle Toni, in addition to different members of his crew and household.

Ruud is but to face Nadal on tour, however again on the academy, the duo often play follow matches and because the Norwegian jokingly admitted following his semifinal win, Ruud hardly wins.

“He has played many Grand Slam finals but at least he is playing a student from his academy this time, so it is hopefully going to be a fun one,” he mentioned.

A record-extending twenty second Grand Slam and 14th Roland Garros title is at stake for Nadal on Sunday. If Ruud – the large underdog – is to spoil the social gathering, he’ll change into the primary Norwegian participant to elevate a singles Major trophy. Either means, these again on the academy in Mallorca could have their heads held excessive.