Casper Ruud Explains Why He Let Roger Federer Win at Australian Open

Casper Ruud had been waiting to be asked about his match against Roger Federer in this year’s Australian Open. Prior to his exhibition match during the opening ceremony, Federer had a practice session with the Norwegian ace.

The Swiss maestro called time on his legendary career at the 2022 Laver Cup and did not return to the Rod Laver Arena until this year. Federer clinched six of his 20 Grand Slam titles at the Melbourne Major, last winning in 2018 by defeating Marin Cilic, who also turned out to be his last Major, as he lost next year’s Wimbledon final to Novak Djokovic.

Ruud, after losing the Italian Open final to Jannik Sinner 6-4, 6-4, was asked during his interview with 20 Minutes about his practice session with the 44-year-old.

Finally, this question has come up; I’ve been waiting for it for six months. Let’s just say I was lucky; it was a bit of a fluke because it could have been anyone. And ten minutes later, I walked past Craig’s [Tiley] office to say goodbye. That’s when he said to me, ‘Listen, Roger wants to practice for thirty minutes, how about it?’ It sounded nice, so of course I said yes.

Ruud said he did not give his all during the match. Well, he struggled to think whether he should beat the legend in front of his fans.

It was difficult going onto the court thinking, ‘I’m going to beat Roger in front of 15,000 people when everyone is there to support him.’ I won’t lie, I played at a slightly slower pace than usual. But he really played very well. He scored some beautiful points, and it’s not like I gave them to him. The only thing I can tell you is that I didn’t play at 100%. And yes, I felt it was more fun for the crowd to see him win.

Casper Ruud added

Ruud met Federer just once. Back in 2019, Federer defeated the three-time Grand Slam finalist in straight sets in the French Open third round.

Casper Ruud compares his matches against Jannik Sinner at the Italian Open

This is not the first time Casper Ruud has met Jannik Sinner at the Italian Open. Last year, they faced each other in the quarterfinals, with Ruud getting dismantled 6-0, 6-1. Ruud, in fact, gave a priceless reaction when he finally won the lone game.

Yes, it was definitely a better match for me this year compared to last year, where I really had no chance. I had a great start, just what I expected. I broke his serve immediately, which is not very typical of Jannik lately. A somewhat different situation than he is probably used to. But he stepped up and broke me back. The match got interesting.

Casper Ruud said at the press conference after his latest defeat

Sinner, who now holds a perfect 5-0 head-to-head record over Ruud, will next be aiming to complete the Career Grand Slam at the French Open, where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz last year. Ruud is a two-time finalist in Paris, losing to Rafael Nadal in 2022 and to Novak Djokovic the following season.

Last year in Paris, Ruud suffered a shock second-round exit in the second round, losing in four sets to Nuno Borges. Ruud played his first final of the season in Rome, but for Sinner, it was his fifth consecutive final.

He is on a record-extending 34-match winning streak in Masters 1000s, having won all 2025 Paris Masters and the first five Masters 1000s of this season. Jakub Mensik is the last player to beat Sinner (in the quarterfinals of the Qatar Open).

Also read: Jannik Sinner Explains Heartwarming Gesture for Mascot Kid Before Rome Final: “It’s a Moment That Brings Me Joy”