'I looked up to him' Casper Ruud remembers his childhood hero Rafael Nadal as he wins the biggest title of his career in Barcelona

Ruud played a perfect match against Tsitsipas today, winning all the crucial points and games dominantly. As the first set was heading towards a tie-break, with the two players battling neck-and-neck at 6-5-on serve, the Norwegian produced some incredible tennis to crack the Greek and snatch the set with an easy break.

Ruud produced more of this incredible tennis in the following set, demolishing the ball to take a 3-1 lead with another break of serve. He used his unbelievably high percentage (80%) first serve today to then close out the set 6-3 and win the match. This win takes him closer to a spot in the top five, which he would hope to regain with a good run at the French Open.

Third time’s the charm – Casper Ruud may be one of the favorites heading into the French Open

Casper Ruud brings with him a game style similar to that of Dominic Thiem, who has been hailed as the Prince of Clay. His aggressive yet incredibly consistent baseline game gives him an edge over most players on slow clay surfaces. This has been proved on several occasions with ten of his eleven career titles coming from clay court tournaments.

His most notable achievement on clay is that he is one of the very few players in the open era to make it to the finals of the French Open two years in a row. He joined this elite group constituting Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem, among others, by making it to the finals of the esteemed clay court slam in 2022 and 2023.

Many would agree if told that luck may have played a part in his defeats in these two finals. This is because he had to face his idol Nadal the first time, and Novak Djokovic the second time. The 2024 roster, however, is looking very positive for the Norwegian as both the giants of the game are not close to their best shape or form. He would be hoping that the third time’s a charm as he has the most experience winning big matches at the French Open amongst fellow youngsters.