‘One Day Tell My Grandkids’- French Open Runner Up Casper Ruud Cherishes Special Memory of Playing Against Rafael Nadal

Casper Ruud is Norway’s new hero after a stunning run to the final of Roland Garros this year. With wins over Hubert Hurkacz and Marin Cilic along the way, the Norwegian showed signs of great promise in his relatively young career.

At 23 years old, Ruud reached his first Grand Slam final, facing his idol for the first time in his career. However, the former Rafael Nadal Academy graduate was easily outclassed as Nadal blazed past him, 6-3 6-3 6-0.

Ruud pays tribute to idol Rafael Nadal

The eighth seed stunned the world throughout the two weeks on his way to the summit clash. After his defeat, Ruud explained his feeling of facing the 14-time champion. He says, “At the end of the day I can hopefully one day tell my grandkids that I played Rafa on Chatrier in the final.”

“They will probably say, Wow, did you? I will say Yes. I’m probably going to enjoy this moment for a long time,” he added.

Nadal now has won all of his 14 finals in his career at Roland Garros. With Nadal returning after a foot surgery in 2022, he now has won the first two Grand Slams of the year this season. The last time the Spaniard accomplished this feat was in 2010.

Also Read: ‘The Foot Was Asleep’- Rafael Nadal Details How He Subsided Pain Before Scripting History at French Open 2022

Nadal outclasses Casper Ruud in convincing fashion

Nadal was firing on all cylinders against the 23-year-old in their first encounter. After losing the first set, the Norwegian broke Nadal to take a 3-1 lead, but ran out of steam soon afterwards, as he lost 11 consecutive games. The Spaniard took advantage to move to an unbelievable 112-3 record in Paris with the win.

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Ruud could not get back into the game, failing to win even a single game in the final set. Now, Nadal will take some time off as he looks to return to Wimbledon at the end of this month. With wins in Melbourne and Paris at 36, the Spaniard is far from done in his glorious career. Nadal will move up to 4th in the ATP world rankings on Monday.