Casper Ruud expects Grand Slams to be spread out among players in years to come

Casper Ruud believes the days of a few players dominating the Grand Slams are numbered.

Ruud believes the next generation of talent has too many top players for a small group to be dominant.

With Carlos Alcaraz joining the ranks of Grand Slam winners in 2022, Ruud feels that 2023 could see more first time champions.

Ruud told Eurosport: “The amount, if you ask me, of talent around on the tour these days is great, and I think more players will have the opportunity and chance to win Grand Slams in the future than what we have seen the last 17 or 18 years.”

Ruud has been fortunate to have developed a close relationship with Rafael Nadal and he says that he admires the Spaniard’s ability to switch off when he leaves the court.

“It’s great, but he has a sort of switch,” he said.

“He switches on and off on his personal side. I’m not going to go into all the details or whatever, but it’s really fun to be around.

“He’s not as serious and dedicated as he is on court. He likes to have fun. He dances around a little bit and enjoys a good glass of wine, for example, for dinner. I don’t think he will be bothered me telling this, but he’s a fun guy.

“We had a lot of fun and he has sort of taken me under his wings a little bit with the [Rafael Nadal] Academy and it was fun to be very close to him. Of course, we were in the same hotels all the time, flying around together, so we got to see him up close more and it was fun. He’s a really relaxed guy.”

Ruud enjoyed a laidback exhibition tour with Nadal at indoor venues in South America.

“Obviously, he’s older now and more experienced and he hadn’t done a tour like this before, but he had done something similar,” added Ruud.

“I think, back in 2012 or something, he had been with Novak playing a couple of matches in South America. Not as many as now, but he told me a little bit about that. And, in the end, he’s also a father.

“He was talking back home with his wife and his kids, showing me some nice videos of his son and stuff. So, we’re just normal guys. That’s what we all are in the end.

“People think that athletes are like super strict or super serious all the time, but it’s not always the case. We can have fun, we do other stuff in our personal lives as well.”

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