Casper Ruud, the tennis sensation known for his sharp humour, has endeared himself further to fans with a cheeky remark at Tommy Paul‘s expense. The Norwegian star’s banter was on full display during a recent media roundtable, cementing his reputation as a favourite both on and off the court.
The TennisOne app released a video on Tuesday featuring Ruud alongside Dominic Thiem and Alex De Minaur in a roundtable discussion. The trio delved into various tennis topics, but it was Ruud’s question about whether any of them had ever suffered a ‘double bagel’ (losing 6-0, 6-0) in their professional careers that sparked particular interest.
After the players exchanged stories, De Minaur brought up his 6-0, 6-0 defeat to Paul in the US Open Juniors semifinals. Ruud, along with Thiem, expressed astonishment, leading Ruud to ask: “Wow. Was he able to focus for 12 games in a row? I can’t believe that.”
The witty remark was a hit among tennis enthusiasts, who praised Ruud’s candid nature. Comments from fans like “Omg Casper,” accompanied by laughter emojis, and “We need more conversations like this,” flooded in, with some even dubbing Ruud a rising star in the media game.
“Quality reaction,” commented another amused spectator, embellishing their remark with a slew of laughing emojis. However, an attempt to shed light on Ruuds comments was made by another fan who explained: “Watch the Break Point episodes that feature [Paul] in them. Ruud seems like he was genuinely wondering if [Paul] could remain that level of focus and seemed impressed. Everyone knows [Paul] isn’t there mentally at times and he has been open about that. Not a dig like everyone thinks it is.”
Delving into their head-to-head history, the numbers show that Ruud has come out on top more often than not in their competitive dust-ups. They have squared off six times in total, where Ruud claimed four victories to Paul’s two.The pair have battled through 22 sets against each other, with Ruud taking the lion’s share with 13 won, and Paul close behind at nine, underscoring the fiercely contested nature of their matches.
In their Laver Cup duel, Ruud bested Paul with a scoreline of 7-6(6) 6-2, clinching the initial points for Team Europe in the tournament. Following his triumph over the American athlete, Ruud paid tribute to his adversary, stating: “Game on, baby,” in the wake of the match. He reflected candidly: “I’m fortunate it went my way. A bit of a steal, maybe, that tiebreak. That’s the Laver Cup.”
Ruud then noted the tight competition up to that point, saying: “Even though World is up 6-2, there have been some close calls,” and added optimistically, “They won the first two or three tiebreaks we played, and this one went Europe’s way. Hopefully, it can be somewhat of a momentum shift for us.”
Paul emerged victorious against Ruud with scores of [6-2], [1-6], [6-3] to breeze into the semifinals at the Indian Wells 2024 tournament. Reflecting on his match performance, Paul praised his adversary: “Casper came out in the second set and changed the momentum,” he acknowledged. “His energy was way better, and I was playing the match on his terms in the second.”
Delving into a pivotal moment, he added, “I think in the third game of the third set, he had some chances, and it was a tough game to get out of, and it kind of set the tone.”Going on to reveal his mindset during a challenging phase, Paul remarked, “He got the break back and I could have got down on myself but think I did a good job regrouping.”
Content Source: www.express.co.uk