Casper Ruud considers Novak Djokovic to be the second-best clay player of all time, just behind the Roland Garros legend, Rafael Nadal.
The Serbian is one of the best clay tennis players of all time just because he won the Roland Garros in Nadal's era. He also beat the Spaniard at Roland Garros, proving that he can play really well on the surface.
He doesn't really have to have better credentials, because the 14-time French Open winner is the greatest player on clay ever, and it's not even close. He lost only four times in Paris, and two of those losses came to Djokovic.
The Serbian's record at the event even further proves it, as he won it three times in an era when it seemed impossible to do so. One of the best clay players of today, Ruud, agrees with that.
He faced him in Paris before, and he knows just how tough it is to really beat him on the surface, especially because he also did it earlier this year.
"Yeah, well, you can definitely argue that he's the second-best clay court player of all time. I mean, obviously Borg has more titles here than him, but Novak was always close, he always pretty much reached the final and ended up losing to Rafa. And I lost to him last year in the final."
Ruud then went into detail about what makes Djokovic so good on clay, because it's a specific surface. Players can't really rely on the serve as much, having to grind out rallies.
"I think that he reads the game, you know, unbelievably well. He knows how to use a dropshot well. Obviously he moves great. So it's tough to hit winners on him. You know, physically he's there. He's strong. He never breaks down in a way. You feel sometimes that he will, but he never does."
Ruud almost got a chance to play the Serbian again at the Roland Garros, but after Djokovic withdrew from the French Open, the Norwegian moved directly into the semi-finals.
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