Casper Ruud Opens Up About Jannik Sinner: “I Was Way Off the Mark”

In an interview with Tennis365, Casper Ruud spoke about the new era of tennis ushered in by Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, who have taken the baton from the Big Three (Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic). On the eve of the Wimbledon tournament, the Norwegian tennis player admitted that he was wrong years ago.

“I had said that when all the Big Three retired, there would be more room for others to win: clearly, I was way off the mark. Even back then, Sinner and Alcaraz were winning their first tournaments, and then they simply dominated the Grand Slams.”

“Perhaps no one could have predicted what would happen shortly thereafter, but those two were ready to take on the legacy of those champions, and they’ve earned it. When, for whatever reason, they don’t make it to the second week or reach the later stages of the Grand Slams, opportunities open up, and maybe we see new names go far. And that’s exciting.”

“At Roland Garros, for example, there were Zverev and Cobolli, and Flavio was playing in his first final. This serves as an incentive for all the other players to improve and surprise us again.”

The world No. 1 spoke at a press conference about his preparation for the grass courts in London: “As for our preparation, we’ve made a few changes, but I don’t think they’re major. We’re happy with what we’re doing right now: it’s a long process, and we won’t see the results right away. We’re doing our best. I’m happy with the work we’ve done over the past few weeks. I feel ready.”