By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Monday July 3, 2023
At a time when most players are fine-tuning their grass-court games in the mad dash to be in peak form for the start of Wimbledon, Norway’s Casper Ruud was taking the alternate route.
Decompressing from a second consecutive run to the Roland-Garros final, the 24-year-old World No.4 was chilling at “The Weeknd” shows and live streaming epic clips.
To the stickler, it might have seemed like grass-court tennis was the furthest thing from Ruud’s mind.
Maybe it was.
Maybe that’s a good thing.
Whatever the real truth, the time away from the court seems to have done Ruud well. The Norwegian picked up his second career Wimbledon win on Monday, edging past France’s Laurent Lokoli 6-1 5-7 6-4 6-3 to set a second-round clash with Great Britain’s Liam Broady.
Not the most monumental victory for the three-time Grand Slam finalist, but nevertheless a step in the right direction at a tournament – and on a surface – that has perennially plagued him. Ruud entered Monday with a 1-3 Wimbledon record and a 3-5 career record on grass.
Because of that feeble ledger he’s entered the draw as an afterthought, anchoring the quarter that most consider a great opportunity for everyone else, including No.8-seeded Jannik Sinner.
Maybe it’s the perfect setup for Ruud to make his first noticeable splash on grass. He says he’s feeling no pressure and enjoying his time at Wimbledon.
“Coming into tournament, I haven't really felt too nervous,” he said. “I feel kind of pressureless, honestly. My father (his coach and former ATP pro Christian) and I, we don't have the greatest record at Wimbledon. Any time we can pick up a win, it's big for the family.”
Ruud, who says the biggest problem for his game on grass is getting comfortable with the footwork, told reporters that he has trouble driving through his mammoth forehand without worrying about slipping as he starts his recovery, which explains a lot about his troubles.
Rather than think about footwork the minute after Roland-Garros, Ruud elected to relax and let his body take a break. During a long season there aren’t many chances to do so, and he did what he felt he needed to do for his own game, not because he doesn’t care about his performance on grass.
“To me, it's an easy choice,” when asked of his decision to not play on grass prior to Wimbledon. “It doesn't mean that I take Wimbledon not serious enough or anything. I really like to perform well here. But it's just a matter of physically being ready and being ready for the second part of the season.
“It's important for me to have somewhat of a break here and there, and then the easy choice for me is to skip a couple of the grass court events. Yeah, but coming in, stepping into this place here at Wimbledon, I always get motivated to try to do well, and it's always a special feeling.”