The fourth-seeded Norwegian Casper Ruud, who will play in the French Open championship match for a second straight year, is motivated to end his defeats in the Grand Slam finals. Ruud, aiming to win his maiden Grand Slam match, defeated German 22nd seed Alexander Zverev by a convincing score of 6-3, 6-4, 6-0. On Sunday, he will take on 22-time major champion Novak Djokovic.
Ruud admits that the final will be his most challenging task of the year since Djokovic wants to break Rafa Nadal’s record for most men’s titles won. The 24-year-old Norwegian, though, has a plan of attack in mind.
Ruud explained his mentality: “It’s just a matter of not thinking I ‘need’ to win this match; there’s a really big ‘need’ for me to win this match. That’s a word I try to avoid.” Ruud emphasizes the significance of maintaining focus and not placing too much pressure on himself after failing to defeat Djokovic in their previous four meetings.
While realizing the significance of winning games at the beginning of the competition, Ruud is now in the final and is proud of his achievements regardless of the result on Sunday. He thinks that to play one’s best tennis; one must occasionally let go and let the match develop spontaneously. “I’m just going to try to go out there and play point by point, give it my all, and know that it’s going to be a long match, a marathon match,” Ruud said.
Ruud has had ups and downs throughout the season, but his fantastic run at Roland Garros—where he advanced to three finals in his past five Grand Slam competitions—has been when he was at his best. He said, in response to a question on his recent performance, “I think this match and the quarter-final were one of the finest matches I played this year, so that’s a fantastic confidence boost coming into the final. I am aware that if I want to stand a chance, I will need to play similarly or even better.
The Norwegian player thinks he is playing his best tennis of the year right now, and this success could change the course of his season. He hopes to use the disappointment of losing in the final the year before as fuel to work hard on Sunday and win the championship.
Casper Ruud keeps his attention on his game strategy as he anticipates the French Open championship match. Although he is aware of Novak Djokovic’s difficulties, he expects to draw on the automatic flow of his abilities and play point by point while giving it everything. Ruud is motivated to fulfill his dreams and win the coveted Grand Slam competition with the confidence he has garnered from his outstanding performance thus far.