ROLAND GARROS

May 30, 2023

Casper Ruud

Press Conference

C. RUUD/E. Ymer

6-4, 6-3, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Congrats, Casper. That was a solid win today. How did you feel on court?

CASPER RUUD: Thank you. Yeah, I felt pretty good. It was nice to be back. Some nerves as well obviously. Being back the first round is always a little tension, you're here for days training and want to sort of get the tournament going. So it's always a little nerve-racking.

But I came through in straight sets. Just what you want to start with. And, yeah, I felt good, better and better towards the end of the match, and finished the match with a break. I'm very happy, and just never easy to play someone who you consider a good friend. Yeah, it was nice to get over that challenge.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. I have a question about coaching. From last summer on it's allowed to coach during the match.

CASPER RUUD: Yeah.

Q. Do you think it's a good thing or not for tennis?

CASPER RUUD: I mean, honestly it doesn't change that much, I felt like, since they introduced it last summer. It's just easier for us to sort of communicate if there is anything that the coach needs to know from us, the players, or if the coaches want to tell the players something.

But in the end, you can never really know what your opponent will do. I mean, he can always change tactics. In the end, I haven't felt that it changed much. In the end it's just sort of nice to have some positive feedback from your box, knowing that it's allowed, compared to being sort of afraid that a code violation or warning can be thrown at you.

I think it's nice for the players, but like I said, it's not like players and coaches have like a very, very big dialogue. That's not the meaning of it. It's just like throwing some positive things out there every now and then that this is allowed. I think it's good, helpful in a way, but in the end, it's not the biggest of changes that I felt.

Q. You had some small chats during the match with your coach. Is it about tactical things or just to cheer you up? Can you give an example?

CASPER RUUD: More cheer you up. Sometimes I ask them, for example, if they think I should maybe move a little further in or back on the returns, depending on how your opponent is serving. When you're standing too far back you can sort of open the court a little too much on the wide serves.

So if you feel like your opponent is serving great on the wide, for example, you ask, Should I maybe go in? They say, Yeah, try maybe couple games and see how it goes. But it's more like simple stuff like this. It's not like he's explaining to me, you know, hit two forehand crosscourts, then go down the line, and then finish with a dropshot. It's too complicated.

It's more just easy feedback and cheering you up that it's the meaning, I think.

Q. With the year that you've had so far, do things feel stable now? And maybe with a little bit of distance from the start of the year, how difficult were they and what did you try to do to mitigate that?

CASPER RUUD: Yeah, I mean, I feel a little more sort of comfortable I guess now, because I know it's best-of-five sets. That's sort of calming in a way, because you feel like whether you would lose the first set, you know, the finish line is still quite far away for your opponent.

While in a normal match if you play maybe a sloppy game and you get broken and you lose the first set, you know that every game matters. If I get broken in the second set, that could be the end of the match.

Best-of-five sets on clay, it takes a little longer to finish the match, to put it this way. I think that's in a way calming, and I don't sort of fear too much getting broken, and I don't stress too much. That's what I at least felt last year.

I guess a little bit this match, as well. I know that it will be a long match no matter what. If it's just three straight sets, it will be three sets, and if it's five sets it's going to be a tough one, for sure. You have time and you have a lot of games to sort of get your rhythm going.

The matches that I have lost this year, many of them have been, you know, to aggressive, big servers. Last week in Geneva to Jarry, he was playing great, playing really aggressive. For example in Monte-Carlo, I lost to Struff, who is a very aggressive player, he served and hit me off the court, and so on. Also Madrid it was a little too fast.

I feel like it's nice for me now knowing it's best-of-five. And the conditions are fairly slow this year, so I feel like I have a lot of time to sort of figure out what I need to do in order to try to win the matches that I play.

Q. Was there a point in the season where you started to feel that stamina build back up again? Because maybe earlier you wouldn't have felt that way about having to play long matches.

CASPER RUUD: Yeah, obviously this year was a little bit different for me. I tried a different strategy in terms of physically, physical preparation. You know, honestly, it hasn't worked out great, it's safe to say.

I mean, I was hoping that when I did a little bit of physical work in January, February, that I would come out in Acapulco, Indian Wells, Miami and feel great, feel ready, but that was not the case.

Might have been that we sort of messed up a little bit on that hand, you know, I have to be honest and say. I think all of us in the team have felt that way maybe.

But it's okay. Everything is still a learning process. We will learn for next time, and I feel physically good now. I have had some tough matches, couple of good weeks on court and training. Rome was good, good preparation for being fit for long matches here. Yeah, I'm feeling a bit better.

And stamina-wise, I know it's going to be a long year no matter how you do, so just trying to stay in there and hope that this tournament can sort of be a good one for me.

Q. We heard some criticism on the quality of the ball. You just said that the conditions are pretty slow this year. Can you say a little bit on that?

CASPER RUUD: Yeah, it's funny because on hard court particularly you have always discussion, you know, how is the court playing, is it slow, is it fast, how is the balls, how do they last. I feel honestly much more difference on hard court from week to week.

Clay, it's clay, it's not that big of a difference I feel like unless you're playing in altitude, which Madrid it's always a bit faster.

But here this year it's really slow. I can say for sure it's really different from last year and from different balls on clay. They get very hairy, and, you know, that's just my observation. I'm not saying that's bad or good or whatever, but they do get really slow and hairy after a couple of games.

Yeah, it's different. It brings different challenge to us players, so I can definitely confirm that the ball this year must be different from the last year, because after a few games it gets very big and hairy and slow. Yeah, I also felt the difference.

Q. Do you think that it has a bigger impact on a player like you who...

CASPER RUUD: I'm not sure. I mean, today I won in straight sets, so I guess if I feel like it's heavy, I guess the other players feel the same. So it's the same for everyone.

Some conditions are better for others, definitely, but it's best-of-five sets on clay, the goal for me is just to try to think that with my game on clay, I can play well no matter how the ball is and how the condition is. It's going to be long matches, so the goal is just to be physically ready, and hopefully the game will follow.