ITF

24 Spring 2022 ITF World CASPER RUUD course, it is not enough with only hard work but that is the main base. "After that you need to develop your mindset, especially on court, and have a good overview of what you need to do on court, which comes with playing matches. You need to win a lot of matches and play well in the important points. "Hard work is something that will get you a long way. Between the ages of 13 and 18, these were years when I built my playing style, my character and my body physically. You evolve and develop a lot in those years. "Hard work may sound like a simple answer, but at the end of the day we have heard many times from the legends of the sport like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic that hard work gets you far." Part of Ruud's journey along the ITF player pathway included an appearance at the 2013 Junior Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Finals in Mexico and the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals in Chengdu three years later. As in most areas of his life, Ruud has since progressed to the big leagues and last month he had visions of powering Norway to the Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals with victory over Kazakhstan. However, that proved a step too far. A wily Kazakh outfit confirmed their place at the Finals with a 3-1 victory, sealed by Alexander Bublik's triumph over Ruud, although there remains a deep-rooted desire to ensure Norway reach the competition's top table. "When I first started playing Davis Cup, as a team we sat down and put down the goal that one day we wanted to be in the World Group, which is now the Finals," added Ruud, who holds a 21-9 win-loss record in Davis Cup. "We wanted to play against the biggest countries and the biggest players. That would mean so much to the players and Anders [Haseth] too, who has been captain of the team for over 20 years. It would also mean a lot for the whole of Norway. "I imagine it is similar to qualifying for the World Cup in football. Of course, Davis Cup is every year whereas in football the World Cup is every fourth year, but it is where the biggest teams compete against each other. will go, being in that elite group of the top 10 was a goal. It was an emotional moment when I got there." Ruud references his father on numerous occasions during this interview and understandably so given it was his dad who first thrust a racket into his hands. Christian, who represented Norway at three consecutive Olympic Games and reached the third round at Atlanta in 1996, remains Casper's coach to this day, and it has proven a more than fruitful partnership. "He has been the key to my success because he knows what this sport is about," said Ruud. "He has been guiding me in the right directions and pushing me hard, but luckily not too hard because I think there is a fine balance with how far you can push someone, and players are a bit different in this category. "For many years, he has known which buttons to push and which ones not to. He has always been there and always pushed me, helped me and guided me. He still does and he deserves a lot of the credit for my success." Another key ingredient cited by Ruud is simple dedication to his craft, something he believes has underpinned his rise from outside the top 100 a little more than three years ago to his current lofty position. His promise had long-since been identified, however. Ruud was a former junior world No. 1 and the recipient of a $25,000 ITF- administered Grand Slam Player Development Programme Grant in 2018. He has spoken previously of his appreciation for this funding and of its value, particularly at a time – during the early stages of his professional career – when finance was perhaps a more pertinent issue. A further 44 players, all from developing tennis nations, have this year received financial assistance through the Grand Slam Player Development Programme, with the hope being their progression will also receive a timely boost. Having earned more than $5m in prize money, the days of Ruud requiring financial help have passed, although what do remain are the principles and values which sustained and characterised those early tennis steps. "It sounds very basic but the main ingredient for success is hard work," said Ruud. "Of

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