Casper Ruud's approach to the 2023 season was very unusual, and he was criticized for it multiple times over the past few months.
The 24-year-old spent the majority of the off-season traveling around South America on an exhibition tour with Rafael Nadal. Therefore, the young Norwegian didn't have proper preparation ahead of the new season and that proved to be costly in the first two months. Ruud lost the majority of the matches that he played, entering the 2023 Indian Wells with a 3-4 record.
But the draw was very nice to the Norwegian. In the second round, he took on Diego Schwartzman, who is also struggling with his form, having lost 14 out of his last 16 meetings. However, he earned a win in the first round in Indian Wells, and he certainly wasn't to be underestimated.
But Ruud didn't wait around and started with a strong showing in the first set. The world no. 4 hit 11 winners while making only six unforced errors, and thanks to his impressive serving and great returning, he was able to break the Argentinian twice and win the first set comfortably 6-2.
In the second set, Schwartzman improved on his service games and also posed a risk when his opponent was serving. Yet, that wasn't enough to stop the third-seeded Ruud, who used his only break point to gain the needed advantage.
After an hour and 29 minutes, the Norwegian won the match 6-2, 6-3 and booked the third-round spot at the 2023 Indian Wells.
He will have a chance to kick-start his 2023 campaign as his third-round opponent is Cristian Garin, who is currently also very far from his best, but impressed against the 29th-seeded Yoshihito Nishioka, winning 6-4, 6-0.
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