Google News Casper Ruud on moment Roger Federer was announced to Boston crowd: It gave me chills
by DZEVAD MESIC | VIEW 7247
World No. 10 Casper Ruud admitted he felt chills after record 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer was announced to the Boston crowd at the Laver Cup. Federer, a former world No. 1, isn't playing at this year's Laver Cup but he flew to Boston to attend the event.
Ruud, who won three titles in as many weeks this summer, took on Reilly Opelka in the opening match of this year's Laver Cup. "I think I was at 3-1 in the first and I was about to return and they showed him on the screen and everyone went nuts.
He deserves it, the crowd was going crazy, it gave me chills. I was in the match mode but still it's something you can't block out from your feelings. Like I said, it gave me chills, it was an extremely fun experience for me and it's great to see him back in a tennis arena.
Even though he is not playing, he is always a big part of the tennis world and this event. He is one of the guys who made it all happen and started it. He deserved all the cheers he gets from the crowd," Ruud said of Federer.
Ruud handled Opelka routinely
Ruud, who is making his Laver Cup debut this weekend, beat Team World's Opelka 6-3 7-6 (4) to get Team Europe off to a good start. "I was quite nervous in the beginning, it's a big stadium, a big crowd, you get chills when you walk on court, you have the intro, the music...
Seeing all the legenda. Luckily, I handled it well. I got an early break which kind of calmed the nerves down a little bit. I'm sure it was the same for Reilly, he is playing at home. so I was just trying to enjoy the moment, try to play without pressure. It was a very good match for me," Ruud said.
