Casper Ruud Press Conference — Final — Rome 2026

[0:02] Kasper, not the result you wanted today, but how do you play with it in two weeks in Rome? [0:06] Yeah, all in all, of course, a very good tournament. [0:11] I won some good matches against good players, [0:15] playing some of the best tennis I've done this year, [0:18] so really happy about those feelings leaving Rome with these memories, [0:24] and hopefully I can build on it for next week in Roland Garros [0:29] and push myself to get even better and play my best tennis for Roland Garros is the goal. [0:47] In terms of the tactics, did you watch the Jannik semi-final against Medvedev, [0:54] and did you try and adapt some of the things that Daniel did? [0:59] I saw you looked at a lot of drop shots at the start of the match, [1:02] and was there a blueprint to follow there? [1:05] Also considering, though, that Jannik had some physical issues in that match. [1:08] Yeah, of course, I watched the Jannik and Daniel's match that went over the last few days, [1:13] and especially then on Friday night, it looked quite physically tough for both players, [1:19] but particularly Jannik looked like he was struggling quite a bit with a few different things, [1:23] so I tried thinking that the longer the match gets, maybe the more positive for myself, [1:28] but you cannot just choose to make the match long against Jannik. [1:32] I mean, typically he goes out and kills everyone, you know, two and one in an hour, [1:36] but today was at least a little bit longer, and at times, you know, there were some great, tough rallies, [1:44] but he didn't seem too bothered with the longer rallies today, so I mean, what can you do? [1:48] I mean, you can only focus so much about your opponent, you'd rather focus on yourself to know it and to play your best, [1:56] but I had it in the back of my mind, but I went out thinking that this will be a tough match, [2:01] and Jannik will be in good shape, so it didn't really, I didn't make my tactics based on what I saw on Friday, you know. [2:10] Hi Kasper, obviously you went a bit better than last time you played him. [2:14] What do you think went right this time? What did you get right, [2:17] and what do you think you could take from this match should you meet him again at Roland Garros? [2:21] Yeah, I mean, definitely it was a better match for me this year than comparing to last year, [2:26] where I really had no chance, so I got off to a great start, you know, [2:33] kind of what I was hoping for and broke him right away, which is not very typical for Jannik these days, [2:39] and, you know, a little bit of a different situation than what probably he's used to, [2:44] but, you know, he stepped up and broke me right back, and it was game on, [2:47] and unfortunately I kind of dabbed off a little bit towards the end of the first set and the beginning of second, [2:52] that's kind of where the match kind of was maybe not decided, but where he got off to a lead, obviously, [3:03] and winning the first set and break up early in the second, it's not easy to come back from that, [3:07] but I had one break point in the second set that I didn't get, and, you know, he stepped up, [3:14] and I think the main difference was that in the second set he really stepped up his serving, [3:21] I really couldn't do much in my returning games, and I was a bit too short, [3:27] and when you are a bit too short or not precise enough against Jannik, he just rips you off the court, [3:32] so I know that if I want to have more chances, I need to be more precise with the baseline shots, [3:39] the rallies that we get into. [3:41] Ciao. Well, first of all, congratulations, because it's a great tournament. [3:48] Thank you. [3:49] Finally, everywhere, in all masses, Van Taalse, on clay, so not too bad. [3:54] No, thank you. [3:55] So, I'd like to know, you won the first, you were up 2-0, what were you thinking at that moment? [4:02] What were you thinking that maybe since Jannik seemed to be a bit tired in the previous days, [4:09] maybe today you had a chance, and what happened afterwards? [4:13] Because in the following seven times he served, you won only seven points. [4:19] So, one point for each game when he was serving. [4:22] And what is the difference between this sinner and the one you played last year or in the previous times? [4:30] I mean, was he a little slower or a little more erratic or what? [4:35] I mean, I got, like I said, I got the perfect start that I wanted [4:42] and couldn't follow up with a good service game, unfortunately. [4:45] But I think in the second, or when I was 2-0, I think I made quite a lot of first serves [4:51] and he made some good returns, so it was not like I threw away the game. [4:55] But I was, of course, you get a good feeling when you get off to a good start, [5:00] but you realise, look, there's still a lot of tennis to be played. [5:03] And like I said, you know, I was not in contention much in his service games [5:08] that ever since I broke him that one time I was struggling to find any more chances in his serve. [5:15] But, you know, comparing this match to the last year, it was, of course, 6-0, 6-1, [5:26] but it felt like it could be 6-2, 6-3. [5:29] I mean, I had many game points that I didn't win. [5:32] I mean, sometimes if it's 6-4, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3, 6-1, it can be a bit like based on the day, [5:40] which points you win, but the fact is that he's an incredible player, [5:45] that me having played all of the top players in the world in my career, [5:54] when he plays his best, there's not many that can reach this level, [5:58] if anyone at all in the world, so I think... [6:02] Huh? [6:03] Yeah, I think definitely those two. [6:07] I never played the big three in their prime. [6:10] I played them in their career, but towards the end of their career, [6:13] so they felt more playable at that time, [6:15] but I'm sure Roger, Novak, Rafa at 25, 26 years old was also the same feeling for the other players, [6:22] but I don't see him getting any worse, unfortunately, [6:27] so you just have to think that you have to be better and better, [6:30] because he's also going to get better and better. [6:33] Hey Kasper, congrats on the tournament, hell of a week. [6:39] This is your first week outside of the top 20, I think in like five years, [6:43] and so even for someone who isn't necessarily kind of focused on rankings, [6:48] in theory I guess that could be dispiriting, [6:50] but obviously you've bounced back and made a final in the Masters immediately. [6:54] I'm just curious, what does that say about you, [6:56] that you've been able to bounce back so well and perform so well this week, [6:59] as well as obviously in Madrid you performed well? [7:01] Yeah, I mean ranking goes up and down as we know, [7:05] but it is at the end of the day very important, [7:07] because it gives you better seeding or ranking based on your performance, [7:11] and seeding into the tournament can be important. [7:15] So whether you are 13 or 16 or 18 is not the biggest difference in the world, [7:21] but obviously top 10, top 8 in the world is where everyone is aiming to be, [7:25] because that gives you even better seeding and gives you a chance to maybe play the finals at the end of the year. [7:31] So having done that a few times in my career, that's the goal for every year. [7:36] Now this result can be very crucial and important for my season and the future of the year, [7:43] but I need to keep focused and it's a good feeling when you end up getting over 600 points in one week. [7:53] And especially after not being able to defend in Madrid, [7:58] but I still feel like there's more to gain now. [8:01] I didn't do well in Roland Garros last year, so I have a few chances coming up, [8:04] and if I can stay focused and stay in the right mindset, [8:07] I think the next months hopefully can be good for me in terms of my ranking that I can continue to climb. [8:14] Kasper, in terms of Yannick's skiing background, you're from Norway, you must know something about skiing. [8:21] Do you think it helps him at all, the way he always seems like he's in balance, [8:26] you know, moving back and forth across the baseline like a slalom skier? [8:31] He's kind of a tall, lanky guy, but he never seems off-balance. [8:35] Yeah, it's one of the things I see as a player myself, the most impressive is how he moves, [8:40] and he's strong and also kind of in balance and flexible to get to certain positions, [8:47] and he has good hip movement and knows how to slide on both corners, [8:53] so ultimately I don't think that's because he was skiing as a young kid, [8:57] but obviously it helps to have good balance. [8:59] I also did skiing, but I don't move as good as him, but... [9:05] So I don't necessarily believe that because he did skiing when he was young, that's why he moves so well, [9:12] but I mean look at Alcaraz, he didn't ski and he also moves pretty damn well, [9:16] so I mean it maybe helps for your balance, and I have the belief that doing a lot of things as a young kid is good, [9:23] no matter what it is, whether it's skiing, running, golf, doing things that keeps you active is great, [9:29] but yeah, I mean I have never seen Yannick ski other than videos, but it would be fun to do a skiing competition one day. [9:38] Yep.