Casper Ruudthe new champion of Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell-Conde de Godó Trophyis a student of the Rafa Nadal Academy in Manacor since 2018. He goes there with his father and coach, Christian Ruud, in search of new stimuli that would boost a career that was relatively stagnant at the time. Since then Pedro Clar joined the technical team and his progress has been constant and consistent, like his game, one of the bases to understand a record that already has 11 titles.
“Hello everyone! Thank you very much for your support this week. This Rafa Nadal court is today my new favorite court and this is also my new favorite tournament today”, were his first words yesterday at the presentation of the trophy, in Spanish, a wink which was applauded by the local public before Casper continued his speech in English both in the court and later in the press room.
Ruud loves to play in Barcelona and, in fact, the Norwegian was one of the first to contact the organization to ensure his presence in this 2024 edition. ” that is coming,” said Casper, clarifying that he will return in 2025 to defend his crown.
After the protocol, Casper headed to the club pool to take a traditional champion’s bath with the tournament’s ball boys. This time, a rarity because it is a relaxed and popular tradition, when he arrives at the garden area they are waiting for him to greet him. Javier Godo, Number of Godóhe president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonesand the president of RCT Barcelona, Jordi Cambrawho almost made a corridor for him before jumping into the water.
“It’s fun to jump in the pool. I have seen this tradition for many years. The first day of the tournament, interviewing here, it occurred to me that maybe on Sunday I could jump in the pool and in the end it happened. It is an amazing club, it is 125 years old and 71 editions. There is a lot of history and I hope this tradition continues for many more years,” said Casper Ruud.
They didn’t play the final or Rafael Nadal neither Carlos Alcarazthe two great local idols, but the center court was equally packed with 8,000 spectators, who were equally delighted by Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipastwo players are also highly valued Barcelona. Casper was even aware of the bystanders’ complicity when he told his sister’s anniversary speech, as the audience broke into a spontaneous ‘Happy birthday!’, another nice detail.
The other side of the coin is Tsitsipas, with his tank almost empty after a crushing quarterfinals and semifinals, devastated to concede his fourth defeat in four finals played in Godó, but very right all the same of the sadness of the moment. Nadal (2018, 2021) and Alcaraz (2023) have deprived him of glory before. “Both of us struggled for two weeks, we ran a lot. This club and this crowd is incredible. Congratulations, it’s 125 years of history!” exclaimed Stefanos.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
