'It was more looking up to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal', says ATP ace



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'It was more looking up to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal', says ATP ace

Roger Federer made his Olympic Games debut in 2000 in Sydney, barely missing a medal at 19. Four years later, Tomas Berdych defeated him in Athens, and it was not for the Swiss in Beijing 2008. Desperate to add to one of the last notable titles missing from his collection, Federer had a great opportunity to chase the Golden Slam at London 2012, just a couple of weeks after lifting the seventh Wimbledon trophy.

Returning to his beloved courts at the All England Club, Roger had to battle Alejandro Falla in the first round before finding his rhythm against Julien Benneteau and Denis Istomin. Federer defeated John Isner with a single service break in the quarters to set up the semi-final match with No.

9 Juan Martín Del Potro. Following the 2008 s-Hertogenbosch semi-final, the Argentine did not play as well on the fastest surface, reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon twice and saving his best tennis for the Olympics.

Del Potro advanced to the semifinals and edged closer to a medal, gaining a huge boost and putting his best foot forward against seven-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer on August 3. After four hours and 26 minutes of epic tennis, Federer prevailed 3-6.

7-6, 19-17, in what has been the longest hat-trick of the Open Era, stealing the title from that titanic battle between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in Madrid 2009! Federer earned six more points, missed serve twice and blew 11 of 13 chances on the return, missing a chance to seal the deal earlier.

The Swiss had more winners and errors, building the advantage in the shorter range to four shots thanks to 23 aces and losing a bit of ground in the longer exchanges that kept Juan Martin alive for almost four and a half hours.

Casper Ruud recently won three consecutive titles on clay court after he clinched the Generali Open in Kitzbuhel. The Norwegian also improved his ranking by two places, as he moved from World No. 14 to 12. However, he has revealed his dream of beating either Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal in the near future.

Casper Ruud on the Big 3

Casper Ruud came under the limelight after his victory at three events in three consecutive weeks. He has mentioned his tennis idols in an interview with ATP. However, he does believe he can beat his idols, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

“Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. It was more looking up to them. When you are young it is tough to believe you can be there yourself and beat them. They are more like an inspiration, but the older you get, the more you start to believe, and you get to practise with them sometimes.

They are obviously better than you, but maybe not as much as you would maybe think,” said Ruud when asked about his dream victories. The 22-year-old has a promising future ahead of him and dreaming of beating the big guns is one of his targets. As a youngster, everyone dreams of playing their idols; however, very few achieve the dream.