‘I didn’t think I’d be sitting here in this position’ – Casper Ruud on surprising himself in 2022

Two Slam finals plus a year-end final – it is a good year’s work for the young Norwegian

Tennis – ATP Finals Turin – Pala Alpitour, Turin, Italy – November 19, 2022 Norway’s Casper Ruud celebrates after winning his semi final match against Russia’s Andrey Rublev (AI/Reuters/Panoramic)

Simon Cambers

November 30, 2022

Carrie Dunn

World No 3 Casper Ruud says even if he didn’t win his maiden Grand Slam in 2022, he has still pleasantly surprised himself with his achievements this year.

“I have four finals that stand out for me this year, which are Miami Open and Roland-Garros, US Open, now [Turin],” he said following the ATP year-end finals. “Three of four are on hard court. I guess that’s surprising.

“Even to reach a Roland-Garros final is surprising because when you start the year, that’s not something you think about. [It] was a tough start of the year for me because I twisted my ankle in Australia the day before my match in the tournament, so I had to pull out. I guess when I was on the plane back home, I did not think I would be sitting here in this position.

Ruud: Tennis is a sport of fine margins

And he added that he knew that few were expecting him to reach the final in Turin – on an indoor hard court.

” I think when the draw was made here, I guess I was the least favourite to reach the final, I think I can say for sure, compared to all the other great players who I consider are maybe better hard court indoor players than myself. There are small margins in this sport. I’ve been able to come through, fight through, be in the final, so I’m very happy about it.”

The 23-year-old reached his new career high of world No 2 after the US Open, and won three titles this year, all outdoors on clay – Gstaad, Geneva and Buenos Aires.