Casper Ruud reveled the major difference between playing against World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and the legendary Novak Djokovic.
Casper Ruud, Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner (via Outlook India/ATP/Tennis365)
Jannik Sinner has dominated the 2024 season with his great consistent performance on the court. His rival, Novak Djokovic, has not played according to expectations this year, but for the last seven years, has been the best player on the Tour. Casper Ruud recently reflected on the difference between facing the two stars.
Since Djokovic turned 30 in 2017, he has won 12 Grand Slams, which is half of his 24 major titles. Last year, he experienced one of the best seasons of his career, winning seven of the 12 tournaments he competed in and three Slams. This season, he has struggled but has played some remarkable tennis, and won the Olympic gold medal in Paris.
On the other hand, Sinner has achieved new heights this season and has already claimed seven titles. He won the Australian Open in January and then consolidated it with a sparkling victory at the US Open. The 23-year-old has been to three finals since then, losing one to Carlos Alcaraz and winning the other against Djokovic, while recently reaching the ATP Finals final after defeating Ruud.
During a press conference at the ATP Finals in Turin, Ruud was asked to explain the difference between facing Sinner and Djokovic. The Norwegian revealed that Sinner plays faster than Djokovic.
I think on TV it looks probably similar the way they play. But Jannik hits a faster ball than Novak. He doesn’t let you breathe. With Novak you can play rallies. Not going to say easier to play Novak because he’s the best in the history. At least with Novak you can play more rallies and not be terrified of Novak ripping, like, a bomb down the line or cross-court or these things.
Casper Ruud (via ATP Finals Turin Press)
Sinner ended Ruud’s hope of an ATP Finals final after defeating the 25-year-old 6-1, 6-2 in the semifinals. The Italian will face Taylor Fritz on Sunday (November 17), as he hopes to lift the tournaments title for the first time in his career.
Casper Ruud has had a good season, having a record 51 wins in 75 matches this season. He captured two titles in the first half of the season and reached the semifinals of the French Open. However, the Norwegian star has struggled on faster hard courts since August.
Before arriving at the ATP Finals in Turin, he had just one match in four indoor hard-court events. He revealed the reasons why he failed to perform well on fast courts, and why he plays his best on slow courts.
In Turin, Ruud did play some of his best tennis, beating Carlos Alcaraz and Andrey Rublev to reach the semifinals. He only lost to Alexander Zverev and Jannik Sinner at the ATP Finals.
