“Hard Training With Him” – Casper Ruud Reveals Plan to Hit with Rafael Nadal Ahead of French Open 2021

Casper Ruud has had an amazing week in Geneva, making the most of a dream season on clay to lift his maiden Tour title.

Still basking in the glory of his first ever championship win, and deservedly so after reaching three semifinals on clay in Monte-Carlo, Munich and Madrid, the Norwegian tennis star said he wants to catch a quick breather before shifting focus to Roland-Garros.

In an interview with an Italian publication, the current World No.21 said he will rest for a couple of days before returning to training.

Casper Ruud says he will train for French Open at Rafael Nadal’s academy

“I will rest (for) 1-2 days and then I will resume training to prepare for Roland Garros,” Ruud said.

He added that he is planning a hit or two with Rafael Nadal at his academy in Mallorca, Spain, before the French Open.

The Norwegian said that the 13-time Roland-Garros champion is already in Mallorca and will look for some playtime before traveling to Paris.

Though his clay court season this year has been marred by two defeats at Monte-Carlo and Madrid, Nadal also picked up his 12th and 10th career titles in Barcelona and Rome to silence doubters ahead of Roland-Garros.

“Rafa is there and I think he will want to play so after some rest I am ready for some hard training with him in Mallorca,” Ruud said.

Ruud lifted his maiden Tour title in Geneva

The 22-year-old added that he is unsure if some of his top rivals will also be training at the academy ahead of the French Open, but there is a chance that they could.

He said that rising Spanish star Jaume Munar is known to train at Nadal‘s academy and even the likes of Bulgarian star Grigor Dimitrov and Argentine Diego Schwartzman have visited Mallorca in previous years to prepare for Roland-Garros.

“I don’t know if there will be other players, usually there is Jaume Munar and some junior tennis players. Sometimes Dimitrov and Schwartzman went there too,” Ruud said.

Read More: Rafael Nadal Explains Why He Chose Tennis As a Career

After taking down the high-flying Pablo Andujar, who engineered the tournament’s biggest upset in the form of Roger Federer, the Norwegian bested an in-form Denis Shapovalov to clinch the Geneva title.