"We're more like friends" - Christian Ruud on his relationship with son Casper
ATP
Casper Ruud's father, Christian, spoke about their relationship. He serves as his coach and is a former player himself.
Before his son Casper became a Norwegian tennis superstar, Christian Ruud was the most successful Norwegian player ever. He won 115 Tour-level matches and had a career-high ranking of No. 39.
Only a few years into his career, Casper Ruud has already surpassed those achievements. Not only that, he can win his first Grand Slam title at the 2022 US Open and become the World No. 1 player on the ATP Tour.
His father, Christian, doesn't want to look too far ahead. He knows there are still two more matches in front of his son if he wants to lift the trophy in New York.
"We are just trying to take one match at a time. It's still far away, I think. But of course, it's nice that it's possible, and Casper has a little bit of motivation with that in mind because even when he was small, his ultimate goal was to be No. 1 in the world."
Christian also spoke about their personal relationship. It might be difficult to be Casper's father and coach at the same time, but he revealed that they are more like friends, which makes it easier.
"I think it is just natural for us. I think we are also more like friends. We have the same hobbies. We play golf together. We watch movies together. We like sometimes have the same hobbies, in a way."
Christian Ruud also spoke about his son's early motivation. Casper's idol was Rafael Nadal, and he wanted to follow in his footsteps. He managed to do that partially.
"I think he really wanted to see how far he can reach. He was already starting to look at Rafa, and that was his idol, so he really was into the tennis world, and he wanted to be on that center court one day."
