Casper Ruud tried out a unique approach this year as he didn't have an offseason before the season but kept himself in shape for the Australian Open.
He intended to take one between the Australian Open and the North American hard court stretch, but Brooksby defeated him so his plan fell through. Ruud was questioned by reporters about his puzzling choice and his thoughts on it.
I'm not sure. I mean, it's very easy to sit here now and say that was bad for maybe both Rafa and I due to the fact that we lost early here. At the same time, I see no reason why we couldn't have a good Australian Open or made better results down here. I think it's coincidental sometimes.
He did take a brief vacation in December to recover but then opted to keep playing in Abu Dhabi as preparation for Australia. He thought it would go well but he was simply unable to break down Brooksby who defended spectacularly.
I practiced three, four days there and played the Mubadala tournament. That week in Abu Dhabi was kind of like, it's not the right thing to say preseason, but there were great players there. I practiced with Norrie, Tsitsipas, Alcaraz. I played two matches. It was sort of a mini week of preparation.
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