By Julien Pretot
PARIS (Reuters) – Casper Ruud has now lost the three Grand Slam finals he has played, but the Norwegian believes he has earned something at the French Open this year – the respect of his peers.
Ruud lost 7-6(1) 6-3 7-5 against Novak Djokovic in his second straight final at Roland Garros on Sunday as the Serbian claimed a record-breaking 23rd men’s Grand Slam title.
Last year, he was demolished by his mentor Rafael Nadal at the French Open, before falling in four sets against Spanish prodigy Carlos Alcaraz at the U.S. Open final in September.
“Obviously anyone you play in a Grand Slam final is going to be a good player. But the three players I’ve played is just Rafa going for, at the time, the record for 22, and then Carlos who was just on fire in New York, and then here, Novak, going for 23. I played very tough players, as you say,” the 24-year-old Ruud said.
“There have been other players in the final, also in the last years, who have maybe been more playable or beatable.”
Ruud, who has reached the final in three of the last five majors, is confident the wheel of fortune can turn as he accumulates experience at the highest level.
“I can’t just sit and make excuses, but let’s see what the future holds. I think this is maybe the most important final that I reached, honestly, because … here I sort of proved that whatever happened last year is just not like a one-time case,” he explained.
“Even for next year when we come back to Roland Garros, people are going to look, ‘Oh, Casper didn’t just make one final but he made it twice’.
“Probably going to plant some respect in my opponents’ eyes and hopefully I can build on that.”
‘CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR’
Ruud definitely earned Djokovic’s respect when he made a fast start on Sunday, opening a 3-0 lead with an early break, before the Serbian turned the screw and took his opponent into a tiebreak.
In the whole tournament, Djokovic has not made a single unforced error in seven tiebreaks, and he came into the contest having won the last 100 Grand Slam matches in which he took the first set.
“There’s no bad words allowed here so I don’t know what to say. But you’re thinking, you know, the F word because you just lost a really tough set against Novak,” said Ruud.
“He’s going to build on it and it’s tough to bounce back from that.”
It was indeed tough for Ruud, who quickly lost contact in the second set.
“I let him get away in the second set too easily. That’s something I must build on or be better at if I want to have a chance against these guys,” he said.
Ruud, however, can look ahead with some confidence as his consistency is likely to give him another shot at a Grand Slam title.
“I’m gonna try to obviously aim for a slam title. That’s my biggest goal, my biggest dream in my career and in my life,” he said.
“It’s been close, but no cigar, so I’m going to keep working and try to get it one day.”
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Toby Davis)
