Casper Ruud won't be making his grass season debut at the Halle Open next week as he pulled out of the event.
The Norwegian last played at Roland Garros where he made his way to the final but ultimately lost to Djokovic who created history. Ruud had a pretty good line when he lost to Nadal at last year's Roland Garros admitting that it's a privilege to be part of Nadal's historic moment and he did that this year again.
He didn't use the same line but Ruud did become part of the statistic and he'll be remembered as the player who Djokovic beat in this historic final. It's a disappointing finish for Ruud but also something that will make him feel a bit better after a really challenging season that saw him struggle with his tennis for a long time.
He won't be too excited about returning to grass as it's not a surface he enjoys very much. At last year's Miami Open, he famously said that he'll play golf to prepare for Wimbledon because the grass is for golf players and not tennis players.
I think grass is for golf players. My preparation for Wimbledon is pretty much just playing golf before the tournament. I feel more comfortable on the golf courts than on grass courts for now but let's see if it will change.
It seems like that might be the plan this year as well as the Norwegian pulled out of the Halle Open where he was supposed to play a prep event. It's not clear whether Ruud will completely skip but he's not in the entry lists for either Mallorca or Eastbourne the week after Halle so unless he gets a wild card, it seems like we won't see him until Wimbledon.
It's likely to do with fatigue but more generally he doesn't play that well on grass and likely never will. Wimbledon is something you don't skip over but these prep events are easily skippable. Especially for someone who likes to have a club in his hand when he steps on the grass instead of a racquet.
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