"The conditions here are dramatically slower than in Madrid"

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Winning your first Masters 1000 title is difficult, but winning the second one is even more challenging. This is the mission that Casper Ruud has set for himself these days at the Foro Itálico. Coming off a victory at the Caja Mágica just a week ago, he will now aim to quickly adapt to conditions that suit him even better. After overcoming a tough debut against the always dangerous Bublik, the Norwegian sat down with Tennis Channel to discuss his form, his leap in performance in the Spanish capital, and the upcoming match against Matteo Berrettini.

Debut against Bublik

"He got an early break, and we all know what this player is capable of when he's on fire; he's truly hard to stop, able to hit the most spectacular shots you'll see on a tennis court. On the other hand, you also know he will make some mistakes, so you have to stay focused on your goals. It may sound simple from the outside, but it's often quite challenging. Sometimes it even feels like he's toying with you, and that's where the crowd also plays a crucial role. Luckily, I managed to break his serve in the third set, and that was enough."

Being solid and aggressive at the same time

"It all revolves around the primary and secondary plans. My philosophy tells me always to hit one more ball because you never know what might happen. It's my more traditional way of playing, but there are times when the match invites you to be a bit more aggressive, whether due to the opponent or the court conditions. There are moments where you might fear losing more, but also times when you feel more liberated from pressure. I see that my game is always ready to compete against any opponent. I don't want to be too defensive because if you make a simple mistake, you might think it's the end of the world."

Adapting to Rome

"The conditions here are significantly slower than in Madrid; I think all players would tell you the same. Sometimes it's interesting to hear how tennis players clash in their opinions about which hard courts are faster or slower, but here I believe we all agree: Rome is much slower than Madrid. We all need to adapt, even though we say this is standard clay court, Madrid's surface is more unusual. After a few rest days, I started training on Wednesday until this first round match. Tomorrow, I'll rest again and hopefully be ready for Monday."

Assessment of the title in Madrid

"I tried to take the positives from the final, beyond just thinking about the title or what I achieved. I feel that I played my best tennis of this season there, placing every ball close to the target. But it's really difficult to go back to that place and reflect on exactly what aspects I executed to make everything go so well or how I managed to expose my best version in a particular match. This tournament serves as a fantastic foundation for this clay court swing, and I will pay close attention to this week because it will help me rediscover that level of performance. As I said before, I prefer to focus more on individual matches than on the conclusion of winning the title."

Berrettini, next opponent

"It's a joy for the tour to see Matteo back with us, a person who has faced many setbacks both on and off the court in the last three years. We know that if he is injury-free, he has the potential to be top 10, an athlete with many weapons to be feared, but he hasn't been very lucky lately. We should talk about his serve and his forehand, his two biggest weapons on the court. In that sense, he has a similar approach to mine, although he is much bigger. It's going to be a great battle; I remember during the COVID period, we had to play here, but it was all different, with hardly anyone in the stands and everyone wearing masks, a very strange atmosphere."

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, “Las condiciones aquí son drásticamente más lentas que en Madrid”