"You can never feel comfortable playing Nadal" says Casper Ruud
ATP
Casper Ruud will play against Rafael Nadal at the 2022 ATP Finals, and even though the conditions might favor him slightly, he's aware of the challenge.
Ruud met Nadal on the tennis court once already. The two met for the first time this year when they played for the title at the French Open. It was a very straightforward match for the 14-time Roland Garros champion, who won 6-3, 6-3, 6-0.
Now, they will meet in their last round-robin match at the 2022 ATP Finals, and both are in a completely different situation. While Ruud has his semi-final spot secured thanks to two wins, Nadal can't advance anymore because of two losses.
However, despite maybe even being a favorite against the 22-time Grand Slam champion, Ruud knows that he can't take the match against Nadal lightly.
"You can never feel comfortable playing against Rafa, no matter what form he is in or what shape. I mean, he's had two tough losses here. Yeah, the match on Thursday is going to be quite different conditions than when we played in Roland Garros this year, that's for sure."
"It's faster. It's not best-of-five. It's on a hard court. Everything is different. But you can never count Rafa out. He has proven that many times."
Ruud would want to win his group with three wins, even though that wouldn't change anything for him in the grand scheme of things, as he will advance from first place regardless of the result
At the same time, the Norwegian player knows that if someone will be motivated for a dead rubber match, it will be Nadal, who plays even his practice matches like real matches.
"I'm sure he will seek some sort of revenge for his two losses and finish his ATP season in a good way. I will try to keep it rolling for the semifinals. It would obviously be a dream feeling to move out of the group with three wins."
