Casper Ruud insists he is “not haunted” by the loss he suffered to Rafael Nadal in the 2022 French Open final.
Ruud, 24, made his first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros last year.
In his maiden Grand Slam final appearance, Ruud was ousted as Nadal claimed a routine 6-3 6-3 6-0 win over the Norwegian to lift a record 14th French Open title.
By beating Ruud in last year’s French Open final, Nadal’s astonishing finals record at Roland Garros improved to 14-14.
This year, Nadal skipped the French Open due to a psoas muscle injury while Ruud has been through to the round-of-16 at Roland Garros.
Ruud: I’m not Nadal’s first French Open victim
“I’m not really haunted by what happened last year in the final honestly. I mean, like I said, I think last year I’m not the first victim to lose to Rafa in the final. Of course I wish I could have done a little better and so on, but was my first one. Not really haunted by it, but yeah, I think I am — some more eyes on me maybe this year than last year. But yeah, it’s been sort of quiet so far. Been able to do my job and play my matches and get on in the tournament. So I’m very happy and moving closer to second week. That’s where, you know, you really need to step up your game and play your A game if you want to do well and continue winning,” Ruud said, per Sportskeeda.
On Saturday, Ruud recovered from a slow start to beat Zhang Zhizhen 4-6 6-4 6-1 6-4.
Ruud hasn’t had a really great 2023 season but he has been able to win a couple of his opening matches at the French Open and reach the second week.
It remains to be seen how far can Ruud go at this year’s French Open.
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