the norwegian Casper Ruud reflected on his entire year on Saturday, following his loss in the Masters Cup final against the Serbian Novak Djokovicwhich he described as “great” despite losing four finals, including, in addition to today, that of Roland Garros and that of US Open.
“It’s been disappointing to end up losing these grand finals but if they made me an offer to finish the year at number three, play the finals I’ve played on January 1 of this year, I immediately signed the contract. There is no doubt about here.” He explained in a press conference after the game.
“I am very happy with everything I have achieved, with how things have turned out for me, with how this year has gone. It has been great,” he added.
However, the biggest positive for the 23-year-old is that he still has “room for improvement.”
“I feel like there’s room for improvement, so I think that’s a good thing to keep being happy. Technically I’m not perfect at all, there are a lot of things I can improve technically. But my foundation as a tennis player has improved a lot this past year. There are still many aspects that I’m still not comfortable with, above all maybe climbing the network”, he pointed out.
Having played in the grand finals gives him a level of experience that he didn’t have earlier this year: “I think next year I’ll go in with a different mindset. When we get to Australia, probably that I have some big goals that I want to reach there. I think my mentality for next year will be different from previous years”.
And he surrendered to his rival tonight and to the Spaniards Rafael Nadalwith whom he fell in the final of Roland Garros.
“Novak and Rafa are exceptional. They have the ability to step up when needed, which I don’t have. That’s something I can definitely try to improve. They always won tight points, tight sets. I’ve always turned on the loser when I played against to players like them”, he appreciated.
In addition, a main goal is set to maintain its level.
“I think one of the most important goals for me next year is to try, although I know it won’t be easy, to spend most of the year without suffering too many injuries,” he said.
Source: La Verdad
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