A dejected Casper Ruud admits playing the Asian leg of the Tour was a big mistake following first round exit in Tokyo

A dejected Casper Ruud admits playing the Asian leg of the Tour was a big mistake following first round exit in Tokyo

Casper Ruud - IMAGO / AFLOSPORT

World No. 3 and the top seed at the 2022 Japan Open in Tokyo, Casper Ruud suffered a shocking first-round exit at the ATP-500 event. Up against Spain’s Jaume Munar, the Norwegian suffered a straight-set defeat as the Spaniard won 6-3, 6-3 to show the exit to the top seed.

Ruud has been called a claycourt bully but hitherto, he had proved his calibre by reaching the finals of the Miami Masters and the US Open this year. However, the hardcourts became a problem for him once again. Ruud however felt it was not the surface that had him in Tokyo.

“I couldn’t find the level I needed today. I haven’t been able to get my feet moving and get him to play. If I want to play well, I have to move well, and that was not the case today. There are a lot of things I can make excuses for, but in the end, it wasn’t my day.

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“Jaume Munar was the better player, and you saw that clearly in the score. I probably made a mistake scheduling these events in Asia. I play too many tournaments,” said Ruud speaking in his post-match press conference following the defeat to Munar.

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Casper Ruud to remain unmoved from World No. 3 despite defeat in Japan

Casper Ruud
Casper Ruud – IMAGO / Kyodo News

Having reached the World No. 2 spot following his runner-up finish at the 2022 US Open, Ruud fell a place in the rankings following his quarter-final exit at the 2022 Korea Open. Despite being the top seed, Ruud couldn’t capitalise on it and lost in 3-sets to Yoshihito Nishioka, the eventual champion.

Ruud’s defeat meant that Rafael Nadal replaced him on the 2nd spot despite being absent on the Tour since playing the US Open. Ruud is now third with 5645 points and despite the early loss in Tokyo, he will remain unmoved even if current World No. 4 Daniil Medvedev wins the title.

Medvedev, a former World No. 1, lost his spot after failing to defend the US Open title and now sits fourth with 5065 points. With 500 points on offer at the 2022 Astana Open as well where Medvedev is playing, even if the Russian wins the title, he will be 100 points away from Ruud’s tally but will surely have the Norwegian in touching distance.

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