"I have the chance to become World No. 1 because I won three ATP-250s this year" - Ruud points out importance of small events

| by Alfredo Bassanelli

With a victory over Karen Khachanov of Russia in the 2022 US Open semifinals (7-6(5), 6-2, 5-7, 6-2), Casper Ruud moved to the championship round and will face Carlos Alcaraz.

Ruud emphasized the fact that his three championship victories at ATP 250 tournaments this year position him to be able to grab the most coveted ranking in tennis. The Norwegian, who fell to Rafael Nadal in the 2022 French Open final, insisted that his 750 points from competing in all ATP-250 events put him within striking distance of the top spot in the world.

"I'll hopefully take every match that I play seriously and know that every match is important. That goes to show why I have the chance to become World No. 1, because I won three 250s this year which in the end gives me 750 points in the race. If I would have played those tournaments thinking, yeah, it's not that important because there's a Grand Slam coming, I wouldn't be in this position," said Casper Ruud.

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Ruud, who won trophies in Buenos Aires, Geneva, and Gstaad, disclosed that, starting next year, he would alter his strategy leading into the Grand Slams with the hope that he might also prevail in the Majors.

"I think when you have success or achieve or experience success in the Grand Slams, it sort of does something to your mindset. Of course, I like to play a lot of tournaments other than the Grand Slams as well. I tend to play some smaller tournaments here and there to sort of get match practice and everything" explained Ruud adding:

"Yeah, I mean, probably from next year leading into the Grand Slams, I'll have a different mindset than what I had this year going into the Grand Slams. Knowing that I can reach further stages, that does something to your self-belief. Yeah, it changes a little bit."

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