Casper Ruud: Exemplary Behavior | Class

Casper Ruud is representing Team Europe for the fourth time, and the top-ranked Norwegian is keen for a Laver Cup victory after two years of being denied. The 25-year-old will intention to increase his pristine 3-0 win-loss profession document on the occasion, which can happen this yr in Berlin’s Uber Arena.

How it’s going
The world No. 9 has received two titles to date in 2024, triumphing in April on the Barcelona Open with a straight-sets win over teammate Stefanos Tsitsipas and a month later, on the Geneva Open. Ruud additionally reached the finals of tournaments in Los Cabos, Acapulco and the ATP Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo, the place he upset Novak Djokovic, the highest seed, within the semifinals. At Roland Garros, the place Ruud had reached the ultimate twice earlier than, he fell within the semifinals in opposition to Alex Zverev. In the ultimate Grand Slam match of the yr, Ruud – a 2022 finalist at Flushing Meadows – reached the fourth spherical in New York the place he misplaced to Team World’s Taylor Fritz in 4 units.

The motivation to play the Laver Cup
Committing to Laver Cup was “an easy choice,” Ruud stated. “Ever since it started, the event, I was watching it on TV and I just thought, ‘I want to be there one day’,” he stated. “I’ve had the chance to play three times now and the last two years we lost, so I think Europe is eager to get their revenge.”

“It’s a cool event for the rest of the world to challenge the European players and the last two years, they didn’t just challenge Europe, they won and they beat us, so it’s time for Europe to step up,” Ruud stated. “It would be really fun to win at home in Berlin.”

The key to profitable the Laver Cup
Ruud, who defeated Tommy Paul in Vancouver 2023, Jack Sock in London 2022 and Reilly Opelka in Boston 2021, is nicely conscious that the efficiency of the crew, fairly than the person, dictates the trail to victory.

“In 2021 [we had] a super strong team,” he stated, recounting the final time that Team Europe had Laver Cup success. “Daniil [Medvedev] had just won the US Open, Sascha [Zverev] had won the Olympic gold. We had Rublev, Berrettini, Stef [Tsitsipas] and myself, everyone on the team was a top 10 player… I think this year, it’s also really, really strong.”

“Alcaraz is going to play for the first year, which is going to be really exciting,” stated Ruud, who holds a 0-4 document in opposition to his rival-turned-teammate.

“And Zverev, he’s played a few times, he’s won the [Laver breaker] a few times, so he has the experience,” he stated of the German. “Daniil wants to play, and myself and Stef are also eager to bring what we can to the table and to Team Europe.”

Unlike some other tennis match, Ruud says Laver Cup will get his coronary heart racing as a result of the end result isn’t on his racquet when his teammates are competing.

“Here, watching when it’s tight, when it’s match tiebreak, you get a high pulse, you start like sweating in your hands … it’s really fun.”

“As a spectator, you have no control of what’s going on,” stated the Norwegian.

Ruud stated the three days of Laver Cup competitors present one of many extra distinctive experiences in the course of the calendar yr.

“It’s exciting because as a player, you don’t watch that much tennis live in a big stadium or a big arena because you’re only always focusing on yourself, [thinking] what do I have to do to be prepared the best for my next match and typically that doesn’t involve going to a match.”

“Here, you get to watch at least like nine or 10 great matches over the span of three days, and you hopefully get to play yourself, do well for the team.”

Role on Team Europe
The gifted right-hander arrives armed with the expertise of securing factors on the eye-catching black courtroom, and he’s nicely outfitted to deal with the stress.

“You feel confident when the team is winning, but, I have been on both ends of it, winning and losing – and losing is no fun,” recalled the 25-year-old. “It’s nerve-wracking. I always have a great time around Bjorn, our Captain, obviously he’s Swedish [and] I’m Norwegian, so communication goes easy between us,” stated Ruud, describing Bjorn Borg, the 11-time main champion, as each a “legend of the game” and “easy-going.”

“It’s also Bjorn’s last year so I hope we can finish and get a win for him before he retires from the Captain’s role,” added Ruud, who stated he's motivated by Borg’s presence on the bench.

“He’s 4-2 in the first six Laver Cup editions so whatever happens this year he’ll still walk off and walk away with a positive result, but I think 5-2 for him would taste better than 4-3.”

Read Casper Ruud’s full Team Europe profile