Casper Ruud Hopes To Turn His Season Around in Miami

Saturday, 25 March 2023 at 14:00

Updated at Monday, 21 April 2025 at 17:33

byZachary Wimer

Casper Ruud hasn't been playing good tennis lately, but the Norwegian impressed in his first match at the Miami Open, hoping to turn his season around.

Playing well in Miami is nothing strange for Ruud because he played in the final of the ATP Masters 1000 event in Miami last year, losing only to the eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz.

This year, the Norwegian took on a very tricky opponent in Ilya Ivashka to start the tournament, but he managed to win in two relatively simple sets and was very happy afterward.

"I want to believe one match will turn it around but there are still a lot of matches to be played with a lot of good players left in the tournament. It’s been almost two weeks since I’ve played a match after taking an early loss in Indian Wells. I worked hard and came into Miami with great memories from last year."

That hard work certainly paid off so far for Ruud, with his level quite a bit over what he showed so far this year. He was quite efficient and used his chances clinically, which reminded of the old Ruud who rarely left any chances on the table.

Read also

His impressive performance was partially inspired by last year due to eerily similar circumstances leading up to the event.

"Last year, I won’t say I turned around my year here because I won Buenos Aires, but then I had an injury that kept me out for two to three weeks, and then I lost early in Indian Wells. When people asked about my expectations, I said I just wanted to have a good finish to the hard-court season, and I made the final."

For Ruud, the plan is very similar to last year: try and win a few matches and hopefully go as far as he can. It would do wonders for his confidence, particularly after a shaky start to the year.