Casper Ruud stood in the Roland Garros final last year and he made a winning start at the 2023 edition of the event as well.
Ruud had a majestic run last year in Paris making his way to his maiden grand slam final. It ended up as a loss due to Nadal's greatness but he made a return this year and it was a good start. Taking on Elias Ymer, Ruud proved convincing booking a spot in the next round.
It's been a testing year for the Norwegian who has had more bad results than good results this year. A lone bright spot was the run in Estoril as he ended up with his only trophy this year. It's unlikely he'll add another in Paris due to the way he played but making a good start is always important.
During his post-match interview, Ruud had a moment remembering his first Roland Garros experience that also featured a legend. It was against Roger Federer a few years ago and he got handily beaten by the legendary player.
First time I played here was against Roger some years ago and I got my ass kicked. We all miss Roger on Tour. It's been sad and we all hope that he's enjoying wherever he is.
The first match of Ruud's career featured a player from the big three era and his most memorable moment at Roland Garros also featured a player from the top three. Unfortunately for Ruud both of those matches saw him on the losing side but there is still time to create some epic memories at Roland Garros and the other grand slams.
It remains to be seen whether that happens this year but for now he's doing well in Paris. Up next for him in Giulio Zeppieri from Italy.
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