By Erik Gudris | @atntennis | Monday, July 1, 2024
Casper Ruud says that an illness caused by a parasite affected him at last month’s Roland Garros and almost prevented him from playing Wimbledon.
The three-time major finalist was however able to recover in time to play at the All-England Club and secure an opening round win on Monday.
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Ruud, the No. 8 seed, enjoyed a 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-4 win over Australia’s Alex Bolt. Ruud enjoyed a good serving day that included 18 aces and 45 winners on the day.
It was the first match for the Norwegian star after losing in the semifinals to eventual Roland Garros finalist Alexander Zverev. In that match, Ruud, after winning the first set, struggled physically with a stomach issue and eventually lost in four sets.
After his match today, Ruud revealed in press that he believes he picked up an unknown parasite somewhere that impacted him in Paris and then for almost two weeks after.
“I went home the day after and kept feeling quite bad for a full week and decided to take a few tests after a week of almost, like, lying in bed all the time. I had no appetite, and I was still bothered,” Ruud said.
“So I took some tests and found out that I had this kind of uncommon small parasite that I had been infected with through not sure where, but the most kind of normal place where you can get infected from it is through just unclean water. “Symptoms can last and bother you for about two weeks. I was mostly in bed for 10, 11 days, which was not what I was kind of hoping for. Those days are my kind of days off after busy stretch of five months in a row with a lot of tournaments. So I rested well, that's for sure, but it wasn't ideal.
Ruud did not compete in any grass court warm up events before Wimbledon. But he says he managed to recover in time to practice on grass before the tournament started. “I’ve kind of regained my strength and been practicing in London since last Tuesday.
"I didn't do much between Paris and coming here. It took a while to get this thing away. Now, luckily, I feel better. Been feeling better every day and been practicing pretty well and trying to feel back to 100 percent, which I feel like I'm quite close to.”
Ruud was asked if he thought at one moment he might have to skip Wimbledon. He said that while the thought crossed his mind, he’s thankful he was able to recover in time.
“Yeah, I did obviously kind of think, you know, if this keeps on going on for too long, Wimbledon might be at risk, but I got good follow-up and help from the doctors at home.” Ruud added, “It was still a good run for me in Paris. Just a bit unfortunate that I started feeling it there and that I wasn't able to play any golf for the days to follow (laughing).”
Ruud will next face Fabio Fognini in the next round.