“It’s love at first sight”: Ruud on his return to clay
The Norwegian raced through his opening match in Monte-Carlo for the loss of just three games
Norbert Scanella / Panoramic
Casper Ruud’s favourite time of year is here and the Norwegian has spared no time getting clay court wins under his belt at the Monte-Carlo Masters in Monaco this week.
The 26-year-old leads the ATP Tour for wins (117) and titles (11) on the surface since the start of 2020, a stat was on full display when he dismantled Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2, 6-1 in just over an hour on Wednesday.
“Just really happy to be back on clay,” Ruud declared after the match. “Haven’t played in six, seven months maybe. It’s kind of love at first sight for me when we come back, I really enjoy it.”
Ruud has had a challenging run on hardcourt since the Paris Olympics in July 2024, compiling a record of 21-16, with 12 of those losses coming to players outside the world’s top 20. One of those came to Bautista Agut last October, and nearly cost him a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals.
“Bautista has created a lot of problems for me in the past,” Ruud explained. “I lost to him three times, only beat him once, really tough matches.
“At the end of last year I lost to him in Basel, that was a big match for me. I was chasing Turin – eventually I got there, but towards the end of last year was getting very, very stressful. So it was nice to get my revenge.
“Game was feeling great today. It was a great match from first to last point. Dominated the way I was trying to.”
Ruud explains approach to clay-court tennis
When asked about how he’s been preparing for the clay season – where he has 1,510 points to defend between now and Roland-Garros – he explained that his approach has been to focus on his strengths: hitting high, heavy topspin shots and grinding down opponents with his physicality.
“Just trying to play the heaviest shots possible at all times,” he said. “It’s not like flat shots aren’t working on clay, but for me I prefer the heavy topspin ones.
“So in practice, I just try to repeat, repeat, repeat, see that my heavy shots are damaging my opponent’s game. That’s the game plan. Just kind of wear and tear them down, then hopefully at some point during your rally you get a sitter and you go for it.
“But you do have to sometimes be defensive, grind out there, slide and I like that part of it as well. It just takes a little more to win points and set up points than on hardcourt. You see it right away, you know. Ace statistics go right down as soon as we get to clay, longer rallies, longer matches.”
Ruud also attributes his patient mindset as a reason why he’s had so much success on clay over the years.
“The reason I’m behaving the way I do is because I’m dreaming of a long career,” he explained.
“I figured quite early that if I do this for 15-20 years, and I’m too hard on myself, too angry, too negative, it’s going to be a miserable life. You’re playing matches all year round, travelling.
“It’s better to do what you can – I get frustrated as well, many times in practices and matches – I just try not to show it. It’s a constant battle of not showing too many emotions. Every point I play, every match I play, I would love to win, and it’s frustrating when you don’t.
“But at the same time, you just have to accept when it doesn’t go your way. Take it with a smile, and move on to the next try.”
UTS Nimes kickstarts Ruud’s clay season
The Norwegian had a unique warm-up to the clay season this year, taking part in – and winning – the UTS event in Nimes. Played at the historic Arena de Nimes, Ruud said the event was not only great for his confidence; it also inspired him.
“It was a very historic place, an old colosseum,” he explained. “The stadium was 2,000 years old from the Roman empire. It was an incredible experience to play tennis there.
“Going into the final, I played [Tomas] Machac and they were playing the Gladiator song. I was like, ‘Whoa, really! Goosebumps.’ You’re looking at the walls of the colosseum and thinking if these walls could talk, they would tell some stories.
“It was a really motivating place to play, such an honour to be there where incredible previous events have taken place.”
Ruud takes on Australia’s Alexei Popyrin on Thursday in the round of 16 at the Monte-Carlo Masters as he seeks to return to the quarter-finals for the third time in his career.
