Casper Ruud said Novak Djokovic was the best player in history (Image: Getty)
Jannik Sinner destroyed one of his rivals at the ATP Finals.
Casper Ruud has explained why he doesn’t have to be “terrified” of playing Novak Djokovic even though he’s the greatest tennis player of all time.
The Norwegian suffered a 6-1 6-2 defeat to Jannik Sinner in the semi-final of the ATP Finals.
Ruud later explained how different it was to face Sinner and Djokovic, saying the current world No. 1 doesn’t “let you breathe”.
Ruud’s season came to an end on Saturday night as he suffered a one-sided defeat to Sinner at the season-ending championships. The pair hadn’t faced each other in more than three years before meeting in the semi-final.
Since their last clash at the 2021 Vienna Open, Sinner has gone on to become one of the world’s best, reaching the top of the rankings and winning multiple Grand Slam titles. And Ruud felt the wrath of the world No. 1 in their third meeting.
He already had a 0-2 record against the Italian. And Ruud managed to win just three games against his younger rival. Afterwards, the world No. 7 explained just how tough it was to face Sinner.
Asked whether he could compare Sinner to prime Djokovic, he said: “No, I don’t think so, in my opinion, because they play different tennis.
“I mean, I think on TV it looks probably similar the way they play. But Jannik hits a faster ball than Novak. He doesn’t let you breathe. With Novak you can play rallies.”
While Ruud believes Djokovic is the GOAT, he explained that he didn’t have to fear a “bomb” from the Serb’s racket like he might with Sinner. “Not going to say easier to play Novak because he’s the best in the history,” the 25-year-old continued.
“At least with Novak you can play more rallies and not be terrified of Novak ripping, like, a bomb down the line or cross-court or these things.
“I don’t necessarily like to compare players because everyone has their own style. For me, you don’t realize how fast Jannik plays unless you watch him play live and you’re there in the stadium. On the TV, it’s not fair, the speed.”
Although Ruud hadn’t played Sinner for more than three years, he’d already gotten a taste of the Italian’s relentlessness during a training session. He added: “I got to practice with him here earlier leading up to the tournament. He also kicked my a** there.
“In a way I knew what I was facing today. Sometimes you feel like players might play even better in practice because they play with no pressure and such things. But today he played really well from the beginning until the end.”
Despite his crushing defeat, the world No. 7 is hoping to face Sinner again in the future to see whether he can step it up. “I mean, I didn’t get a good start so I get stressed and overplay a bit,” he said of Saturday’s clash.
“Even the points I played really well, he was there defending well. I ended up doing a stupid mistake at the end. It was all in all just not my day. I’m not going to say I would have won if it was my day. Yeah, I hope I can play Jannik more in the future ’cause it’s a really fun challenge even though today I lost badly.”
