Casper Ruud Says Sinner May Be Robotic, But It’s Far From an Insult

Casper Ruud moved into the round of 16 in Rome on Sunday with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Jiri Lehecka to improve to 18-6 lifetime at the Foro Italico. Seeded No. 23 in Rome, Ruud will next face Italian Lorenzo Musetti.

He’s 1-1 lifetime against the Italian, but Ruud is quick to admit that another Italian currently stands above the rest on the ATP Tour, regardless of surface: Jannik Sinner.

The three-time Rome semifinalist, who leads the ATP Tour in clay-court wins (137), finals (17, tied with Carlos Alcaraz) and titles (12) since the start of the 2020 season, still has flashbacks about facing Sinner last year in Rome. 

“I played him here, obviously, last year in Rome, and I think already at that point I said quite openly that it was a crazy level that I felt and saw and was kind of a witness to,” Ruud said.

The match he referred to was a 6-0, 6-1 thrashing at the hands of Sinner that left the Norwegian stunned by the Italian’s level.

Ruud later described the performance as “near as perfect as I’ve witnessed” and continued to rave about Sinner’s relentless ball-striking.

“I mean, the first four games, I made maybe a couple unforced errors on my forehand where I went for it, but I missed. Everything else that came out of his racquet throughout the whole match felt like a hundred miles an hour plus,” he said. “Every single shot from the forehand, from the backhand. Even on my shots that I feel at times are pretty heavy, it comes back just firing.”

A year later, Ruud is still not shy about heaping praise on Sinner. Speaking to David Avakian of Ziggo Sport, he said anyone comparing Sinner to a machine is actually paying the World No. 1 the ultimate compliment.

Many have opined that Sinner’s domination, and his straightforward style, is a tad boring. Ruud says it is anything but. 

“I see a lot of people kind of not criticizing, but saying that he’s a little bit too much of a robot,” Ruud said. “But when you realize how difficult tennis is, if you can make tennis look robotic, it shows how good you are. To make a sport that is not simple at all look that easy and straightforward is incredibly impressive.”

Sinner has now reeled off 24 consecutive victories and 29 straight wins at the Masters 1000 level. Ruud says the Italian now carries the biggest target in men’s tennis, yet nobody seems capable of slowing him down.

“Of course, all the other players are kind of after him now,” he said. “The more he wins, the bigger the target on his back becomes. But he keeps beating everyone. So it’s just incredible and kind of inspirational to see what he’s doing these days.”