Casper Ruud has commented on the top two players on the ATP Tour after winning his 14th career title in Stockholm.
Ruud suffered a wrist injury at the Shanghai Masters, but he was able to recover in time for the ATP 250 tournament in Stockholm.
The Norwegian did not show any signs of physical struggle, with Ruud beating Marin Cilic, Sebastian Korda and Denis Shapovalov to reach his first final since winning the Madrid Open in May.
Ruud then beat Ugo Humbert to win the Stockholm Open, and he has now made a comment about Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
Casper Ruud responds when asked if he still thinks he can win a Grand Slam
The Stockholm Open is just Ruud’s second ATP hard court title, but in his post-match press conference after the match he was asked if he thinks he can win a Grand Slam.
Ruud has reached three Grand Slam finals already in his career, but no player other than Alcaraz and Sinner have won a men’s major singles title since 2023.
While he has admitted that Alcaraz and Sinner are the best players in the world, Ruud is not giving up hope that he could get an opportunity one day.
“I mean it’s a different scenario playing best of five sets and we don’t have a Slam indoors,” said Ruud. “But if I can play this aggressive and with this much conviction in my game on a hard court, I think that I can challenge the best players in the world and that is what you want to do.
“Of course, we have two guys up front who are at times almost unplayable and unbeatable but at the same time they are also human and there are 30, 40 or 50 players behind them who every time they step on a court want to beat them.
“Sometimes some of them do and you would like to think that maybe anything can happen when you play them. But they have separated themselves and they have proven to everyone that they are in a bit of a league of their own but it doesn’t stop me, at least, from believing that they are also human and some days they are beatable.”
Casper Ruud suggests if he thinks the tennis calendar is too long
The tennis calendar is often criticised for being too long, and it is also something that Ruud has commented on.
This was even the case at the Stockholm Open, with Ruud commenting on the schedule when reacting to Holger Rune’s injury.
Ruud was asked about the tennis calendar once again in his press conference, which he responded by referring to Alcaraz and Sinner again.
“In my case this year I had a longer break in the summer which has led to me maybe having a little extra energy at this time of the year,” said Ruud. “I think when you look at Carlos’s year this year it is pretty unique. He has played many matches and it still seems like he has joy and continues to go.
“Of course, there are two tournaments left for him. But other than him there is not that many that get to play 60, 70 or 80 matches. I think when you get to that level, when you are looking at 50, 60, 70+ matches a year, it gets quite demanding at the end.
“But except for him and maybe Sinner, who does well every single week, we all have our hiccups and losses where we get to go home.
“But it really helped for me this year to have a longer break in the summer and grow the hunger for the remainder of the year. I was not able to peak or play great as soon as I came back but now I feel like I have more motivation and inspiration in my game towards the end of the season.”
Ruud still has an outside chance of qualifying for the year-end ATP Finals, and he will not have much time to recover from his run to the Stockholm title.
The world number 11 will now head to Basel for the ATP 500 tournament, where he will play Quentin Halys in the first round.
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