Casper Ruud thinks tournaments have the ‘right’ to choose tennis balls as Daniil Medvedev criticizes them after meltdown during ATP Finals
Casper Ruud thinks different balls used in events give different players a chance to win trophies, which for him is the 'beauty' of tennis.
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Casper Ruud, Daniil Medvedev (Images via X)
For Daniil Medvedev, every match is a ‘struggle’ as he feels ‘zero pleasure’ while playing at the ATP Finals. This is what he said after his first group-stage match in the year-end event against Taylor Fritz in the Ilie Nastase Group.
Medvedev was lashing out at the balls used in the tournament, and it’s not the first time he has done so. But Casper Ruud, who is in the John Newcombe Group, has expressed a contrasting opinion on the subject.
After breezing past Carlos Alcaraz 6-1, 7-5, Ruud said every tournament has the right to choose the ball as it gives some players who prefer certain types of balls, a chance to win tournaments. Ruud, however, believes that playing four back-to-back tournaments on the same continent with ‘four different balls can be difficult and challenging.’
At the same time, you have certain players who like the ATP Dunlop ball, some players prefer the Wilson ball, some players prefer the Tecnifibre ball. If you just stick to one ball, it would be, in a way, a bit unfair for whoever likes the Tecnifibre ball. It will give fewer chances to a guy who prefers a Wilson over a Dunlop ball. In a way, it’s the beauty of the game. It’s nice because you’ll have different winners.
Casper Ruud said at a press conference
Ruud also revealed he didn’t like the Penn balls that are used at Indian Wells. Instead of complaining, he opined that there are players who prefer to play with them. He also said he likes to play with the Dunlop balls that are used on clay.
Casper Ruud set to lock horns with Alexander Zverev
Casper Ruud is scheduled to lock horns with Alexander Zverev on November 12. Against Zverev, Ruud has won two matches in their five encounters. They last met in the semifinals of the French Open this year, which Zverev won. Their first meeting was in Acapulco in 2021.
Zverev has won the ATP Finals twice (in 2018 and 2021), while Ruud is yet to win the title. But he progressed to his first final in the year-end championships in 2022, which he lost to Novak Djokovic. Last year, Ruud failed to qualify for the ATP Finals. Zverev had qualified for the event but missed the semifinals.
Zverev, in his first-round match, defeated Andrey Rublev 6-4, 6-4. After his match against Ruud, he will square off against Carlos Alcaraz. While the Norwegian will be locking horns with Rublev.
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Gouri Das
(4691 Articles Published)