Casper Ruud reveals what he was told by Rafael Nadal's uncle about men's tennis

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• Rafael Nadal

Casper Ruud reveals he was told by Rafael Nadal's uncle Toni that the depth of men's tennis has drastically improved over the last couple of years. Nadal, 36, is a 22-time Grand Slam champion and he has been on top of the game for two decades.

But even though Nadal never stopped winning Grand Slams and Masters events, the feeling is that the Spaniard hasn't been winning as easily as was the case earlier in his career. Ruud, 24, agrees with Uncle Toni as he acknowledged there are probably "80 to 100 guys that can play great on any given day." “He was sort of surprised in a way.

Told me like that the depth of men's tennis really, really big nowadays. He said early in Rafa’s career it was like he knew he’d win 6-2, 6-2 if he just did this or this, he'd win 6-2 6-2 because he was too good for the opponent.

Now, even for Rafa on clay, he has to be on top of his game every match otherwise he is going to have a struggle. We have not just 10 guys that can play great, or 15 or 20, you have 80 or 100 that can play so well on any given day.

I think that's exciting," Ruud said on Tennis Channel.

Casper Ruud recalls what Toni Nadal told him about depth in men’s tennis:

“He said early in Rafa’s career, he knew he’d win 6-2, 6-2 bc he was too good for the opponent.

Now, even for Rafa on clay he needs to be on top of his game every match.”.

🎬@TennisChannel pic.twitter.com/tU8oyJ7ClD — The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) May 16, 2023

Ruud through in Rome

Meanwhile, Ruud was in action at the Rome Masters on Tuesday.

Ruud, ranked at No 4 in the world, ousted Laslo Djere 6-1 6-3 to progress into the Rome quarterfinal. Ruud actually started the match a bit slowly as he got broken in the very first game of the match. But it didn't take long for Ruud to bounce back as the Norwegian responded by earning three breaks in a row and winning the next six games to win the first set. In the second set, Ruud broke Djere in the fifth and ninth games to complete a two-set win.