Happy to be back in Turin, Ruud believes ‘anything can happen’

After missing the cut in 2023, Casper Ruud is set to return to the 2024 Nitto ATP Finals. The 25-year-old, who made the semi-finals in 2021, and final in 2022 is excited to see how things unfold in Turin.

“Anything can happen, [when] you have the best players in the world,” said Ruud, speaking to ATP Media before the action begins on Sunday.

Set for his third appearance at the prestigious Nitto ATP Finals, Ruud appreciates the opportunity to go head-to-head with the very best in Turin. The No. 6 Ruud, placed in the John Newcombe Group, alongside No. 2 Alexander Zverev, No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz, and No. 8 Andrey Rublev, reflected on his opponents.

“I am going to see an in form player, [has had an] incredible year,” said Ruud, opening up about Zverev, who recently won his seventh ATP Masters 1000 title at the Rolex Paris Masters and climbed to the No. 2 spot in the PIF ATP Rankings. “He is going to be full of confidence, just came from Paris victory. I am going to do my best to somehow stop him.

“[He has a] great serve, beautiful backhand. When he is on also with his forehand, it is really tough to play him. Because you feel like you are getting shot at from both [the] forehand and the backhand. [I will] try to neutralise his game as much as I can, but it is going to be difficult.”

The Norwegian will kickstart his campaign against Alcaraz on Monday in the day session. Alcaraz, who has won four titles this season, leads the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series 4-0.

“His career [is] already close to legendary,” said Ruud of Alcaraz. “I love watching him play, he is so great for the sport. I don’t necessarily always love playing him because [he is] really tough. It typically comes down to fun points. He is so electric, he can hit any shot in the world.”

Discussing his good friend Rublev, Ruud said he looks up to the 27-year-old. “He just rips the ball from both sides. He is such a kind person,” he said. “I looked up to him because he is a year older than me and he got to the Top 10 and started winning big tournaments way before I did.”

A solid start to the season propelled Ruud to the third spot in the PIF ATP Live Race to Turin by the end of Roland Garros in June, where he reached the semi-finals. Earlier in the year, the 25-year-old won the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell and Gonet Geneva Open, and finished finalist at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

At the end of Roland Garros, the 12-time tour-level titlist caught a parasite that hampered his performance for the next few weeks. Struggling to regain his usual energy levels post-illness and having accumulated fewer points in the rest of the season, he dropped to the seventh spot.

“I’m a bit disappointed that I was not able to keep it up because I was in a good position to finish even higher," he said. But [it] didn’t happen. Had a bit of trouble in summer and fall. But it’s okay. We’re here, and that is the most important thing.”

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