Novak Djokovic’s advice to Casper Ruud after latest Grand Slam final defeat

Casper Ruud suffered yet more Grand Slam heartbreak as he was beaten by Novak Djokovic in the Roland Garros final, so what exactly does the Norwegian need to improve if he wants to win a major?

Having lost his previous Slam finals in 2022 against Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros and against Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open, Ruud was hoping third time would be a charm.

However, after a brilliant opening set he fell away and eventually lost 7–6 (7–1), 6–3, 7–5 as Djokovic won his 23rd major. With the win, the Serbian also took his record against Ruud to 5-0 with the Norwegian yet to take a set off him.

Djokovic was asked if he had any advice for the 24-year-old following his latest Grand Slam final defeat and replied: “What I said on the court, I truly meant it. He and his family and his team are very, very nice people. Very respectful, very down-to-earth, humble, and one of the hardest-working players on the tour, Casper.

“So he deserves his success. He’s one of the most consistent players that we have in the last five years. Yeah, it’s unfortunate for him to lose his third Grand Slam finals, but I’m sure this is not his last finals. He’s going to answer better, you know, what he thinks he should do in order to win a Slam, but, trust me, it’s not that easy, you know.

“Every Slam, it’s like a different mountain to climb from the beginning, because Slams are the tournaments where every player dreams of playing when they are young, so that’s why everyone is extremely motivated to play the best tennis and make a mark in these tournaments.

“That’s why I would say that playing in these tournaments against anybody is more challenging than playing in any other tournament, really.

“I think he’s got, he definitely has, you know, no doubt that he has quality to win a Slam. I mean, he played three finals, two on clay, one in New York, so he’s very close. He’s very close.”

Djokovic himself lost his first-ever Grand Slam final against Roger Federer at the 2007 US Open before winning the 2008 Australian Open. He then had to wait another three years before winning another major as Federer and Rafael Nadal dominated.

The tennis great added: “I didn’t answer to the previous question of where I didn’t believe in myself. You know, I had a great foundation, but I remember when I won my first slam and then for three years I didn’t win another slam, and I lost, you know, several finals and many semi-finals, mostly against Nadal or Federer. That’s where I was really doubting myself, whether I could do it or not, because, you know, you get far but then you fall on the last hurdle. The more times you kind of fall, the more you question everything, you know what I mean?

“But it seems to me that he’s the kind of a guy that doesn’t let the failures take him down. He actually learns from the failures and moves on – well, failure, I mean, what is failure? Sorry, that’s not the right expression. Playing a final of Grand Slam is incredible success.

“So learning from that experience will help him, I’m sure, get stronger and get better. Because as I said, discipline and dedication is not an issue with him. Those are the core values and words that you need to have in order to try to reach the highest goals.”

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