Casper Ruud Compares Matches Against Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in Roland Garros Finals

Casper Ruud has played three Grand Slam finals, two of which were at the French Open. The Norwegian ace reached consecutive French Open finals in 2022 and 2023, losing the matches to Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, respectively.

The 26-year-old lost both matches in straight sets. Ruud, on the Quality Shot Tennis podcast, discussed his two French Open finals, shedding light on the different experiences of playing both of the greatest athletes in the world.

I could talk about it for hours, but I’ll just say that I faced Novak and Rafa in the final at Roland Garros. Novak seemed easier to play against because he doesn’t hit the ball with 40,000 RPM spin, and his ball isn’t as heavy as Rafa’s. Rafa wears you down physically right from the start because every shot is very heavy to return, whereas Novak plays lower; he plays flatter, so you can hit the ball a little more easily against Novak, but he’ll wear you down physically at some point.

That triumph over Ruud ended up being Nadal’s career’s last Grand Slam victory. It was also his career’s last singles trophy as two years later, the King of Clay called time on his remarkable career after Spain’s 2-0 defeat to the Netherlands in the Davis Cup quarterfinals.

But I just think the shock or the wave comes earlier with Rafa, and he holds on. He shows you that from the very first match. Novak is a little more… not slow to start, but a little different. But they’re both incredible in their own way.

Casper Ruud added

This season, Ruud played three finals, winning the Madrid Open and the Stockholm Open by defeating Jack Draper and Ugo Humbert, respectively. He lost the Dallas Open to Denis Shapovalov. In Grand Slam events, Ruud failed to progress beyond the second round.

Marcos Baghdatis says Novak Djokovic is the more complete player than Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal

Former player Marcos Baghdatis previously said he found Novak Djokovic the toughest to play compared to his matches against Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. He echoed similar sentiments during his recent interview with Tennis365, saying the Serb had fewer weaknesses.

I think Djokovic, and why I say that [is] because he had less weaknesses. I think maybe he volleys worse than Roger, but volleying is not a weakness. I’m talking on the baseline, the way he moved, the way he counter-punched, the way he attacked, the way he controlled the whole game — especially when I played against him. I would say that he was the best. Roger, you know, you could see some weaknesses with his backhand. Rafa, the same a bit. But Djokovic, I think he’s more of a complete player.

Baghdatis lost the eight matches he played against Djokovic. Against Nadal, he held a 1-9 head-to-head record, while against Federer, he lost seven matches out of the eight they played against each other. Federer was the first member of the Big 3 to hang up his racket at the 2022 Laver Cup.

Djokovic is still chasing his 25th Grand Slam title, last winning it in 2023 against Daniil Medvedev. Since then, he reached just one Grand Slam final, at the 2024 Wimbledon, losing that match to Carlos Alcaraz. This year, he played the semifinals of all four Majors but failed to progress beyond that.

The 38-year-old picked up two titles this year. He defeated Hubert Hurkacz in the Geneva Open final, following which, he went past Lorenzo Musetti in the Hellenic Championship. Djokovic also reached the Miami Open final, losing that match to Jakub Mensik.

Also read: Toni Nadal Reveals Key Difference Between the Eras of Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz

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