"Very easy to sit here and say it was bad" - Ruud reflects on South American tour with Nadal
ATP
Casper Ruud reflected on his decision to essentially skip the off-season after losing in the second round of the 2023 Australian Open.
Ruud made a slightly controversial decision during the off-season in 2022. Instead of resting and then starting preparations for the new season, the Norwegian player chose a different approach.
He travelled with Rafael Nadal around South America, competing in a series of exhibition tournaments across different countries. That decision raised many eyebrows already when the tour was announced.
For Ruud, that meant that he technically extended his 2022 season, and continued it at the Australian Open in 2023. That, however, now looks like a bad decision.
He lost in the second round of the tournament to Jenson Brooksby 3-6, 5-7, 7-6(4), 2-6. It was certainly a disappointing loss for the Norwegian player, but he refused to blame the tour with Nadal for his loss.
"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."
Ruud said that while he didn't have the traditional off-season, he managed to prepare with some of the best players in the world in Abu Dhabi.
The Norwegian player practiced with Carlos Alcaraz, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Cameron Norrie, but those matches couldn't prepare him enough for the Australian Open, since he lost early.
"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."
