US OPEN

September 6, 2022

Christian Ruud

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Your thoughts on your player, a/k/a your son, making it this far in the tournament, his play over the past 10 days.

CHRISTIAN RUUD: Well, of course, super, super happy with the results so far. I think it's a difficult slam for Casper since the ball is quite going faster. The courts are quite fast.

So maybe it's not his favorite hard courts, but, you know, he's been improving every match. Today he played one of the best matches I have seen him play. Super happy, yeah.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. I wanted to ask you about Casper's evolution on the hard courts, because before 2021, I think he was winning 37% of his matches. Since then, 74%. Great strides. How have you helped him become a better hard court player?

CHRISTIAN RUUD: I think basically in Norway you play a lot on clay in the summer, and his game style suits maybe clay better. So in the beginning it was more like trying to get up in the rankings, and then you want to play the challengers on clay and he kind of played too much on clay because he wanted to reach that goal and be in the top 100 and play the bigger tournaments.

So it was never like he cannot play on hard court, because we play on hard court during the winter. The more you play on hard court, the more confident you get. Especially playing the big tournaments against the good players, you need to build the confidence a little bit. So I think it's just about the confidence.

Even though his game style suits clay a little bit better, the service improved and the forehand is also working well on the hard courts. I think, you know, like we saw today, he can play great matches on hard court.

Q. Has it sort of hit you yet that your son is one, maximum two matches away from becoming the No. 1 player in the world?

CHRISTIAN RUUD: Not really. You know, I have seen the writings about it, and 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.

Yeah, the chances are still there, so we are happy about that and we just have to play one match at a time, I think.

Q. As a former player, what do you think are the most important things that you were able to give to Casper other than really good genes? What are the advantages that the child of a former player grows up with than someone whose father is a lawyer or banker or something else?

CHRISTIAN RUUD: I think maybe the advantage is that I think I have been quite good at training well and training on the right things. You know, I see many coaches training not like the wrong way or spending too much time on things that are not so important.

I think maybe I'm a little bit better than many other parents that don't know tennis to have that quality during the trainings and, you know, do the right things. All those other things that I learned when I was playing myself, I did many mistakes and I did something right, and I just tried to pass that on to Casper to the good experiences and the good things that I remember. I tried to give that on to him and tried to avoid the bad things or the stupid mistakes I did on my path.

Basically, I think that's the biggest difference from, like, a tennis dad and not a tennis dad.

Q. What are the things that some players and coaches waste their time on that you think they should do less? Is there anything in terms of the mental approach that you have been working on with him since he was a little kid?

CHRISTIAN RUUD: First of all, with the tennis part, I think I like to keep it simple, but you have many coaches that want to do many drills sometimes but doesn't really adapt into playing a match. I think we didn't spend too much time on this.

But of course the mental part, I think the biggest advantage I think is that I kind of have been there myself, and I have made bad matches and got nervous and all those kind of things, so I can relate to how Casper feels on the court sometimes.

I think I'm kind of never upset if he loses matches, because I know the feeling. Just from day one I just try to say to him, As long as you try your best in every match, I will never be disappointed.

So I think he has that calmness that he knows I understand the game and that I have been there, and that we are kind of in this together in a way.

Q. What sort of advantage do you think it gives you to be able to coach him now without any issues during a match, since that's now being allowed here?

CHRISTIAN RUUD: Well, I think in a way it's the same for everyone, but I think of course he has trust in me, I think. We have been together since he was very small (smiling). So even though he can get a little bit, not angry, but irritated, I think he still listens to me.

Hopefully I'm saying some good things. Of course I know his game well, because I have seen him since he was young.

I think it's been kind of an advantage for us, and, yeah, like I know him well, and I kind of know his feelings, also how he feels out there. I think it's a little advantage for us.

Q. What would you say is the sort of division between how much of what you will say to him during a match is strategic, tactical, versus encouragement, or...

CHRISTIAN RUUD: I think maybe 80% encouragement, and I think today he was starting to do a little bit dropshots and trying to change his game, and I tried to tell him at least, Keep on doing what you did in the first and second set and play with your forehand and play heavy and make the rallies long, even though Berrettini was starting to play better and winning some of those long rallies.

I think he listened to me a little bit because in the end of the third set he was quite sharp and playing with the baseline both forehands and backhands, not doing too many odd shots, in a way.

Yeah, I hope he at least heard what I said.

Q. Two questions, both about family life when Casper was growing up. Firstly, can you talk a bit about having time where you were his dad rather than his coach, some nontennis stuff? It all seems very, very tennis-based. The other question is did you and Casper's mother ever have any moments of dilemma where you had to say, Are we pushing him too hard? Do we need to push him harder or less hard so he still has a happy childhood?

CHRISTIAN RUUD: I think I was quite young when I became a father. I was 26, 27. So I had a lot of energy. I was still playing pro. I wanted to play with my son. So we did a lot of other sports like all the other kids. He did soccer and he did ice hockey and a lot of golf also.

I think he was introduced to all the sports. I actually didn't coach him that much when he was young. He was in the club, and he was coached by the coaches in the club.

Yeah, and he was like a kid that really likes sports, so he did well in all the sports. When he was 11, 12, he said to me he wanted to go more on the tennis. Then I started to help him a little bit more, because he wanted it that way. Kind of when he was 13 years old he did well in the European Championship in Under-14.

Then I kind of saw that he has something special in a way, and from that point I was, you know, more into it. I didn't feel like we were pushing him. 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.

I cannot say that I remember too many times where I felt we pushed him too hard at all. I think it was almost, or it was always his will to do it in a way. I think I have been quite a calm parent and also my wife.

Q. So you mentioned a ball which is quite tough for him to play with. Could you explain why and what kind of adjustment he is making throughout this tournament?

CHRISTIAN RUUD: Regarding the surface and the ball, the ball, it's always humid here, and also when the sun is out, I think the ball skids off the court a little bit. Casper likes maybe more when the ball is bouncing.

It makes you hit late a little bit more often than other courts or slower hard courts in a way. It's not like a big difference that maybe normal people could see on TV or just by watching. I think that some of the players feel like the ball is going a little bit faster here and staying a little bit lower.

Today I think the conditions made the court a little bit slower, so I think it was good conditions for Casper today. Yeah, basically that's it.

Q. I wanted to ask you about your two journeys as a player first and then as Casper's coach. Which one has been easier and less frustrating? Has it been more of a struggle to coach your son?

CHRISTIAN RUUD: Sometimes I just have to stop and just enjoy the moment, but of course there is always a lot of things that comes with being a professional player and then also doing well. There is a lot of things outside the court.

But when I was playing, the teams around were much smaller, so I felt like I was almost like a hobby a little bit. It was not that serious in a way.

But now of course everything is more serious, the teams are bigger, you are spending more money on the coaching staff and everything. So in a way, I feel like it's more serious now, but I think both journeys have been very fun, and I just have good memories from when I was playing myself, even though I didn't do as well as Casper is doing.

Q. I just wondered, because you talked about your relation as father in the past, but how is it today? Can you separate the coach aspect and the father aspect with your son today?

CHRISTIAN RUUD: I don't think about it that much, but 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.

I think when he was 16 I kind of stepped aside a little bit. He had a coach from Spain for two-and-a-half years. I think that was the age where it's a good frame not to have the father two steps behind.

Unfortunately he had to stop when Casper was like 18. Then I was talking to Casper, and I was trying to find another coach for him. Then he said to me, I want you to be the coach again.

In a way, we had a break for couple years, but I was still managing the schedule and talking to this coach every day, but I was a little bit away from him. He matured a little bit, and I think the last four or five years he has had no problem with me being the coach, just coach and father at the same time. Not thinking about it really.

Q. I know you guys like to play golf a lot. Have you played at all while you're here? Can you still beat him in golf?

CHRISTIAN RUUD: Yeah, we played actually before we came to New York. We stopped on the way in Pennsylvania at a golf resort. We played for two days, me and Casper and the fitness coach and another friend.

We played intensive for two days. Then we actually played one time at the Winged Foot Club here in New York some days before the US Open started.

It was a great experience. He's better than me now, but sometimes I beat him. I think he wins 70% of the time, but I'm not that far away. We enjoy the competition and we have fun playing together.

Q. What did you shoot at Winged Foot?

CHRISTIAN RUUD: Ask what he shot. I didn't play that well that day (smiling).

Q. When I spoke to Casper at Indian Wells, he told me last season he was disappointed in his results at the slams. So I'm wondering how you and he worked together to find a way to get the most out of his tennis at these biggest events?

CHRISTIAN RUUD: Yeah, I think, first of all, experience helps of course a little bit. Yeah, he did well last year, winning six titles and did well at ATP Playoffs and everything. We knew he had the level to play with the top guys and also beat the top-10 players.

So of course a little bit disappointing Grand Slam last year, that was the big goal this year to at least reach some quarterfinals. It was a disappointment in Australia when he was injured two days before the start of the tournament.

I feel like Australia is a tournament where he can do well also. The court suits him well and everything. Of course he came in in French Open with some nerves because he really wanted to do well there and had a difficult opponent in the first round.

But kind of it came together match by match a little bit, and of course super happy that he went to the final. Then the goal was achieved a little bit, and then this US Open he plays maybe with little bit calmer shoulders because he already had one good Grand Slam result.

In a way, you know, he got that breakthrough in the Grand Slams, and hopefully we can continue to do well in the slams. You know, he's fit, he's doing well, so he suits playing five-set matches, I think.