Casper Ruud has opened up about his poor start to the 2023 season, which continued with a third-round loss at Indian Wells loss against 97th Cristian Garin.
Defeat for Ruud followed a second-round exit at the Australian Open in January after a shock loss to Jenson Brooksby. The Norwegian player was also eliminated from the Mexico Open by Taro Daniel in the quarter-finals in March before his latest setback at Indian Wells.
Speaking to the ATP Tennis Podcast about his slow beginning to 2023, Ruud said luck has played some part in his recent defeats. However, the 24-year-old was also optimistic about the rest of the season.
"There’s no hiding the fact it hasn’t been what I had hoped for. A couple of losses have been 7-6 in the third set. So that's just luck of the game. Sometimes it goes your way, sometimes you have to give them away. But it’s a long year, so I don’t feel stressed and belief in myself and motivation is very high.”
Question marks have been raised about Ruud's decision to attend an exhibition tour during the off-season in late 2022, which could have contributed to the Norwegian's lack of fitness and sharpness ahead of the 2023 campaign.
But Ruud was quick to defend his commitment to the exhibition and explained that Nadal's influence helped the decision.
"I also went on an exhibition trip with Rafa right after to South America, which was an incredible experience. And you can debate whether that was right or wrong choice based on physicality. But when someone like Rafa or these big guys ask you to come, you know, you're not gonna say no."
In a balanced response, the former world number two also hinted that playing the exhibition wasn't ideal preparation for the new season.
"Obviously it's a once in a lifetime experience and it was so fun, so great. And It did compromise my pre-season in December a little bit that I didn't have as many weeks as maybe my fitness coach would've liked."
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