“I was a ball kid on this court” Casper Ruud recalls his early days of being a ball kid at the Davis Cup
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Casper Ruud
Tennis star Casper Ruud has become the pride of Norway. The player started his season with the ATP Cup where he won the third group stage by defeating Christian Garin. Having injured himself, he had to miss the 2022 Australian Open post which he played at the ATP Argentina Open 2022 where he won the quarter-finals against Federico Coria.
He then won the semifinals by knocking out Federico Delbonis with the score of 6-3,6-3 and paced his way to the finals where he squared off against Diego Schwartzman and won with the title to claim his first title of the season. Casper is currently ranked as World No.8 which is also his highest ranking. After winning the Argentina Open, his singles career titles sum up to 7.
Casper Ruud speaks on his early days
Casper will participate in the Davis Cup which is going to be held on 4th and 5th March 2022. In a recent interview ahead of the tournament, Casper shared some of his memories from his past when he used to be a ball boy at the same Davis Cup tournament.
“I have a memory of being a ball kid on this court where we’re playing this important tie. I was the ball kid for the Norwegian team and I remember that I was hit by a serve in the stomach, which was a bit painful. I was young, and I remember we had fancy clothing through a clothing sponsor. I just remember wanting to do well as I could as a ball kid,” Casper said.
“It would mean a lot for Norway to reach the Davis Cup Finals and I believe that we can do it. It is the first time we have been playing for something like this. In the past, it was World Group and that was always a big goal. When I first started playing Davis Cup, as a team we sat down and put down the goal that one day we wanted to be in the World Group. We wanted to play against the biggest countries and the biggest players, and we now have the chance to do that.
“It would mean a lot for the players but also Anders [Haseth], who has been captain of the team for over 20 years. He is also excited and nervous about this week. It would mean a lot for the whole of Norway. I imagine it is similar to qualifying for the World Cup in football. Of course, Davis Cup is every year whereas in football the World Cup is every fourth year, but it is where the biggest teams compete against each other.
“After all, 16 teams make the final and if you are one of those teams it means that your country is one of the best 16 tennis teams in the world,” said Ruud hoping to bring laurels to his nation that is still waiting for its first Davis Cup title.
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Drishti Geete
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