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‘I felt it was time to step up after loss to Carlos Alcaraz’, says Casper Ruud


Casper Ruud said Carlos Alcaraz “showed him that the young guys are coming” by beating him in Marbella before his Monte Carlo Masters run.

The 22-year-old Norwegian reached the semi-finals of the ATP Masters 1000 event in Monte Carlo this week – where he lost to Andrey Rublev.

The world No. 27 was beaten by 17-year-old Spaniard Alcaraz in the quarter-finals of the Andalucia Open in Marbella last week.

“It’s a nice confidence booster. Coming into this week, I played pretty well in Marbella, but I lost to a good young player,” said Ruud in a post-match interview.

“I got a tough beating there. He (Alcaraz) was playing very well. (It) surprised me a bit how well Alcaraz was playing back in Marbella. He showed me that the young guys are coming. I felt like it was time for me to step up a little bit.

“I played well here in Monte-Carlo, which gave me confidence. Unfortunately, (it) wasn’t to be today. It’s been a good week. I’ve been playing good matches and beating good players. It’s a very good start of the clay court season for me.”

(Photo credit Ray Giubilo)


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Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.