Dice Casper Ruud (23):
-My youth idol was Rafael Nadal. I always wanted to imitate him.
And There you go.
As soon as he could, the Norwegian went to Nadal's academy in Manacor.
It happened four years ago, at the time that Nadal and his uncle Toni parted ways.
Rafael Nadal then incorporated Carlos Moyá into the team and Toni focused on school. And some international talent began to circulate there, promising people like Felix Auger-Aliassime, or like Casper Ruud.
From that experience, too, Ruud learned a few things. For example, where were the limits of it:
-Imitating Nadal was not the best idea, I realized over time, when I understood that his tennis was very physical, too much for me.
And now?
Now he has to deal with that, with Nadal's physique.
It will happen this Sunday, starting at 3:00 p.m., when the Norwegian disputes his first Grand Slam final, precisely against Nadal and in Paris, what a ballot.
The challenge is enormous for him, and also for Norwegian tennis, which has never faced such a goal.
Who has been the best Norwegian tennis player so far?
Christian Ruud.
He is Casper's father. And also his coach. And in 1995 he had been 39th, his best historical ranking.
Another thing is the present, the present of Norwegian sport.
Little Norway (5.4 million inhabitants) has been offering magnificent sports flashes for some years. In athletics Jakob Ingebrigtsen shines, the great talent of the talented Ingebrigtsen family, with Henrik and Filip behind him. And Karsten Warholm, the fabulous hurdler, world record holder and Olympic gold medalist in Tokyo 2020, also shines.
In the triathlon they have Kristian Blummenfelt, a colossus who swims as much as he pedals but above all, he runs.
The list of cross-country skiers and biathlon specialists is endless. And in tennis, there is Casper Ruud (other Scandinavian phenomena emerge, not Norwegian, such as the Danish Holger Rune or the Swedish Mikael Ymer).
-Well, we Norwegians also have Ulrike Eikkeri: she too is face to face with one of the biggest commitments of her career -says Ruud when he asks for the floor.
Refers to the finalist in the mixed doubles draw.
And the reader will have caught it. Ruud prefers to talk about others, not about himself.
Perhaps he plays that, to get out of the game and leave the leading role to others.
In fact, we had been able to verify something of this at the beginning of the tournament, also here in Paris: fortune had paired him with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, a legend in the Bois de Boulogne, a man who had announced that he would leave the stage as soon as he lost in this Roland Garros.
Tsonga had gone to lose to Ruud.
And in the celebrations for Tsonga, an extraordinary festival of speeches, applause and videos (the entire French school appeared, Murray, Federer or Nadal video chatted), the Norwegian escaped through gossip.
He declares himself an antihero.
If we ask Nadal to talk to us about Ruud, the Manacorí resorts to the radio cassette:
-I have respect for him. He is a friend, he has a great character and a great family. He is humble and laid back and always has a positive mindset and is ready to learn. I like to see how good people achieve his dreams and I'm super happy for him.
-But, was it in your pools?
-That you are here is no surprise to me. I have always seen him as one of the favorites. As a tennis player, he has achieved great things in recent years. If he is ranked eighth, that speaks for itself.
-I think I can't wait to face Nadal. He has played many finals. For me, it's like going to school at his academy, that's how I'm going to feel -Ruud said at the foot of the track, this Friday.
