Casper Ruud was 14 in 2012 when Novak Djokovic bested Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open final, and he would change that outcome if he had the power to do so.
Ruud grew up idolizing Nadal, and it’s clear when he steps onto the tennis court. There are some similarities between them in terms of style of play, and they both favor clay as their favorite surface.
The Norwegian player also practiced at the Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy before his breakout, so the bond is obviously strong. It’s no wonder that the Norwegian selected one of Nadal’s losses when asked what tennis match he’d change the outcome of.
Ruud was a big fan of Nadal back in 2012, and he watched the 2012 Australian Open final from start to finish. When Djokovic ultimately won, the Norwegian was devastated by the result.
He remembered it recently, admitting that he spent six hours watching it and counts it as one of the best matches ever.
"Rafa's Australian Open loss in 2012 against Novak. I was probably even sadder than him because that was watching six hours of TV and hoping Rafa would win, and then it was probably one of the best matches ever."
It was indeed a historic match, with Djokovic winning 5–7, 6–4, 6–2, 6–7(5–7), 7–5. The match lasted 5 hours and 53 minutes and it is a very clear memory in the mind of Nadal.
He was sitting next to Ruud when he was talking about it and reacted to it positively, wondering out loud whether Djokovic would indeed send the trophy back.
"Maybe we can call Novak. I'm not sure if he'll accept. Maybe he can send the trophy or something."
It was a funny moment that showed Ruud’s fandom while also highlighting one of the best matches of all time.