Casper Ruud reveals what Toni Nadal told him about today's tennis

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• Rafael Nadal

Casper Ruud reveals Toni Nadal once told him that the younger generation today plays at a much faster pace than young Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. In the latest episode of Eurosport's Ruud Talk podcast, Ruud noted that Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner - one of the best young players on the Tour - play at "an incredible pace." Over the last two decades, the game has changed a lot in the sense that players today have bigger games and that having an aggressive style and going for it is a common thing to see.

But Nadal and Djokovic have been able to adapt to any condition and still be dominant.

Ruud reveals Toni Nadal's words

"When I came to the academy in Mallorca and had my first practice with Tony, it was funny. I was playing with a junior player at the Academy just hitting from the baseline and he took up his phone and it started timing us to see in 30 seconds how many balls can I hit back and forth.

And he said that you and the younger generation, you play much faster than what you know Rafa and Novak did when they were playing matches when they were younger. It's pretty obvious that us learning from them and how they have developed the game and how great they have played and sort of raised the bar to think that you know this is the level that you have to be at if you want to be at the top," Ruud said on Eurosport's Ruud Talk, per Sportskeeda.

Ruud has never won a match against either Nadal or Djokovic. Against Nadal, Ruud has two losses. Last year, Nadal beat Ruud in the French Open final and ATP Finals group stage, respectively. When it comes to his head-to-head against Djokovic, Ruud has four defeats. So far in 2023, Ruud hasn't had any meetings against either Nadal or Djokovic.