“I would let Novak Djokovic play for my life”, Casper Ruud agrees with Andy Roddick in calling the Serb the best player on indoor hardcourts
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Norwegian World No.4 Casper Ruud talks highly about the Serbian World No.8 Novak Djokovic agreeing to the American former world No.1 Andy Roddick. Roddick has recently admitted that the Serbian is the best player right now despite Carlos Alcaraz being the player ranked 1 in the rankings. The Norwegian also agreed to the same stating that Novak Djokovic is the best player on indoor hard courts.
Ruud started by saying how big a player Novak Djokovic is on indoor hard courts even though the ranking says Alcaraz is the number 1, “Like I said maybe (in) earlier days as well, no offense to Carlos because he has the No 1 spot and will end the year No 1, but if we have to pick one on indoor hard court, depending on your life, I would choose Novak to play that set or match to win it, if it was depending on your life“
Ruud continued about what he thinks about the Serbian’s dominating performance against Russian World No.7 Andrey Rublev in his previous match, “I watched a little bit against Rublev. It was yesterday. It looked like he played (phenomenally). I mean, seems like he’s in a great place both physically and mentally.“
Then he stated how he had been watching Djokovic since his earlier days, “I remember when I watched tennis on TV when I was young, he would have these insane years. I remember especially (in) 2011 where(when) he would win so much. I believe he came to the Finals and he was sort of worn out a little bit and he lost a little bit surprisingly(surprised) and didn’t make it through.
I guess now that he has not played so much this year, he’s more ready for this event. I guess it’s just one of nine or 10 events he has played this year. I’m sure he’s ready. He looks fresh, yeah, mentally and physically, like I said“.
He also touched upon how Holger Rune was able to defeat Djokovic in the Paris Masters final recently, “Just have to give credits (credit) to him. Looks like he’s playing well, In Paris, it showed that he’s human as well, lost in the final, a little bit surprisingly(surprising) to a younger, but also great player.“
When the question was asked about how big his chances are against Djokovic if they get to meet in the finals here, he said, “Seems like he’s playing great. I hope of course I can play him. It means we have reached the final, both of us. I guess I will have to come up with something I have not been able to do yet in order to have a chance against him“. (Source: Express Daily)
Novak Djokovic’s record against the Next Gen
1980s-born Novak Djokovic is battling now against the 2000s generation in addition to the 1990s generation. He and Spanish World No.2 Rafael Nadal has constantly shown the tennis world how to deal with faster young guns who are currently at their best forms. However, more interestingly, the question is how long they can continue?
Djokovic has a winning record against most of the players born in the 1990s (minimum 2 matches played against each other) except Australian Powerhouse Nick Kyrgios (1-2) and 29-year-old Czech Jiri Vesely (0-2). He leads 10-2 against 24-year-old Stefanos Tsitsipas, 3-0 against 23-year-old Casper Ruud, 8-4 against 26-year-old Daniil Medvedev, 25-year-old Alexander Zverev, and 7-5 against 29-year-old Dominic Thiem.
Coming to the record against the 2000-born, he has a losing record against 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz (0-1) but tied 1-1 against 22-year-old Felix Auger Aliassime and 19-year-old Holger Rune. He has defeated 21-year-old Jannik Sinner twice and once. He also has a 3-0 record against a promising 20-year-old Lorenzo Musetti.
2023 is promising to be a battle between three generations of tennis and the tennis world is waiting for that.
Also Read: ATP Finals 2022: Novak Djokovic vs Taylor Fritz Live Stream, Match Timings, Prediction, and Preview
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Vipul Payattuparambil
(552 Articles Published)