Casper Ruud had to dig deep to win his opening match at this year's Miami Open, but he was far from pleased by the tournament's lack of basic amenities.
The former finalist needed precisely two hours and three sets to overcome the talented French teenager Luca Van Assche. After winning a tightly contested first set, Ruud was broken twice in the second set as Van Assche upped the ante.
But the Norwegian recovered from the blip and breezed through the third set, in which he did not face a single break point. Ruud, seeded at No. 7, only recently re-entred the Top 10. He was scheduled on Court 1, where he put the tournament organizers on the spot for lack of service standards.
Ruud engaged the chair umpire in the discussion after he was unimpressed by the lack of cold water and towels on the court and bemoaned the insufficient seating for changing gear.
"There's been no towels, no cold water, and just a plastic chair to change. This is a joke. And you know why it is, because the tournament is too cheap to put up something good for the players. The players come here every year to play, to put on a show in front of tens of thousands of people and then they treat us like this."
Ruud did not blame the umpire but merely pointed out what is becoming a constant flaw. He reckons basic amenities should be readily available for a tournament of such high prestige. He also urged the official to take the matter to those in command.
"Go to trailer for five minutes in a room with nothing and just a plastic chair to change. Maybe they can put some towels, maybe some cold water for the players' comfort. And it's not your fault. I'm just saying how bad it is."
"No, I know you didn't know but I'm telling you now. And you have to take it on today to whoever is charge, Andrea, Massimo, whoever. Because every time the players complain, nothing happens."