"It's impressive to see Ons Jabeur play" says Casper Ruud

Friday, 20 May 2022 at 05:30

Updated at Monday, 14 October 2024 at 14:15

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byAlex Waite

Casper Ruud has praised two WTA players—Ons Jabeur and Simona Halep—whom he enjoys watching when he's not on the court himself.

Ruud is currently in action at the 2022 Geneva Open and has reached the semi-final stage, where he will meet Reilly Opelka. The deep run in Switzerland follows a strong season so far for the world number eight, who won the Argentina Open in February and reached the Miami Open final before losing to Carlos Alcaraz.

The Norwegian player has continued to progress well in the ATP rankings following an impressive 2021 campaign. Last season, the 22-year-old made his mark in senior tennis by winning five ATP Tour titles, including the Geneva Open, which he is now defending.

However, away from the demands of ATP tennis, Ruud has been following the WTA action closely. In a recent interview, Ruud spoke about players from the WTA Tour, mentioning Jabeur and Halep, who are among the best players in the WTA Rankings.

"It’s impressive to see Ons Jabeur play. She plays differently from many other women. She throws in a drop shot, has a good touch of the ball and can play fast winners. I was watching a little bit, couple of matches where she played before I would play in Rome."

"Halep has teamed up with Mouratoglou - that could be an interesting relationship to follow. Some years back, when she was on the top of the world, I always enjoyed watching Simona Halep play tennis because I think she builds her points very well."

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"She was very structured. She’s not a big hitter or the most powerful girl but she was number one in the world, winning Grand Slams because she did the right thing."

Jabeur has enjoyed a sensational run during clay court season and has recently risen into the WTA's Top 10. The Tunisian player won the Charleston Open and the Madrid Open in April before losing the Italian Open final to world number one Iga Swiatek in May.

Currently, former world number one Halep cannot boast the same accolades and honors as Jabeur in 2022, with just one title this season. However, the 2018 Roland Garros champion is trying to improve her game after linking with esteemed tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou.

Halep started working with Mouratoglou after the 2022 Indian Wells competition, where she lost to Swiatek. The pair has, therefore, had limited time to improve, although the Romanian did make a quarter-final run at the Madrid Open.