“He never thought that he could be No. 2 in the world,” Toni Nadal believes Casper Ruud has the potential to become the new number one ranked player


“He never thought that he could be No. 2 in the world,” Toni Nadal believes Casper Ruud has the potential to become the new number one ranked player

Casper Ruud (IMAGO / PanoramiC)

Casper Ruud has had a brilliant year on the ATP tour, which was highlighted by final runs at the French Open and US Open. The Norwegian could potentially end the year as high as world number two, if he manages to go all the way to the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, Italy.

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Former coach and uncle of Rafael Nadal, Toni Nadal, heaped praise on Casper Ruud for his commendable achievements in 2022. Casper Ruud attended the Rafa Nadal Academy back in his younger days and has been under the supervision of Toni Nadal during the early part of his career.

Toni Nadal heaped praise on the world number four and believes that the Norwegian could soon become the new number one ranked player. The Spaniard revealed that Casper Ruud had made some radical changes to his game style over the past few years, which has helped him reach the top of the sport.

“Casper Ruud, I remember when he came to the academy, he had a bad backhand because, in my opinion, he made bad movements with his legs. Now his backhand is good. Back then, I said he needed to change a little. Now watch what has happened with Casper. Every year, he has improved a little. I remember, when he came to the academy, he never thought that he could be No. 2 in the world,said Toni Nadal.

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“The most important thing in tennis and in life is to improve,” Toni Nadal on Casper Ruud’s progress

Casper Ruud
Casper Ruud (IMAGO / NurPhoto)

Toni Nadal believes that Casper Ruud’s biggest positive trait is that he makes things look easier and avoids any sort of complications. Moreover, the coach added that a tennis player has to keep improving in order to remain at the top level, something which Casper Ruud has done over the past few years.

“Now, I have seen many of his matches and he is a very good tennis player. He can be No. 1. The most important thing in tennis and in life is to improve. Casper has this capacity. Normally, he makes things very easy, very simple, and not complicated. With calmness, he hits the ball very well. When you are alone and on the tour, you have to improve and try to learn,” said Nadal.

Casper Ruud reached the semifinals of the ongoing Nitto ATP Finals, despite losing to Rafael Nadal in the final round-robin stage encounter. The Norwegian will face Andrey Rublev in the last four, who defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in three sets in a must-win encounter. The third seed was nowhere close to his best in the defeat against Rafael Nadal and will have to raise his level against the indoor hard-court specialist, Andrey Rublev.

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