Casper Ruud heaps big praise on Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune, credits the youngsters for making the tour ‘more exciting’

Casper Ruud heaps big praise on Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune, credits the youngsters for making the tour ‘more exciting’

Holger Rune, Carlos Alcaraz, Casper Ruud

Casper Ruud, the current World No. 4 is the latest player to praise young guns Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune. While Alcaraz continues to hold his World No. 1 rank since winning the 2022 US Open, Rune with his title at the 2022 Paris Masters broke into the Top-10 occupying the 10th spot.

While Ruud leads Rune 4-0 in the head-to-head, Alcaraz holds a 3-0 lead of his own on the Norwegian. Of the three, two came in the finals. Alcaraz pipped Ruud to win the 2022 Miami Masters and then the US Open recording two of his biggest titles against the former World No. 2.

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In a recent appearance on the Eurosport’s Ruud Talk podcast, the Norwegian spoke about how the arrival of these youngsters has changed the scenario on the Tour. He complimented them for not only challenging the established players but also winning the titles against them.

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“Rune and Carlos are the same age. It’s great to have two of these guys now fighting for the biggest titles and winning them. It’s really impressive. Of course, it’s a little bit of a surprise that he [Rune] did as well as he did. But I feel like almost everyone can beat everyone and that’s a little bit more exciting.

“Just the general level of tennis has maybe raised in all aspects, and more players can challenge the best in the world, which is fun, and you’ll have these little bit more surprising results here and there. It’s fun to see that he and Carlos have sort of moved up and shown the world that they’re here and that they were hungry, ready to play,” said Ruud.

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Casper Ruud cites Holger Rune’s example to explain his love for tennis

Holger Rune - IMAGO / IP3press
Holger Rune – IMAGO / IP3press

While Ruud and Rune were involved in a verbal spat after their quarter-final clash at the 2022 French Open, the Norwegian did not hesitate to appreciate the young Dane. Speaking of Rune’s Paris Masters title, Ruud called him lucky but did not demean his achievement hoping to see more of his wins in the future.

“He was a little bit fortunate maybe in Paris because against [Stan] Wawrinka he saved a couple of match points and then he ends up winning the tournament. It just shows you how small the margins can be in this world and that’s why we love it.

“That’s why I love playing and watching many matches. He’s top 10 now as well, so that’s a great way to finish the year breaking top 10. We will see more of Holger in the future,” added Ruud during the podcast.

While Alcaraz misses out on his maiden ATP Finals appearance due to the injury he suffered against Rune in Paris, Rune and Ruud will be travelling to Turin. Ruud is in the main-draw of the year-end championships seeded 3rd while Rune makes the trip to Turin as an alternate.

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