Casper Ruud was grateful to see Rafael Nadal reaching out to him and congratulating him on his US Open run. Ruud, 23, made his second Grand Slam final at the US Open. Unfortunately for Ruud, he once again fell short of winning a Grand Slam title as Carlos Alcaraz handed him a four-set defeat in the final at Flushing Meadows.
“Congratulations @carlosalcaraz for your first Grand Slam and for number 1, which is the culmination of your first great season, which I am sure will be many more! Great effort @CasperRuud98! very proud of you! Tough luck today but amazing tournament and season!
Keep going!” Nadal tweeted.
Ruud on Nadal’s congratulatory message
“Thank you Rafa! See you soon,” Ruud responded to Nadal’s message.
In early June, Ruud suffered a straight-set defeat to Nadal in the French Open final.
After losing his first two Grand Slam finals to Spanish players, Ruud expressed a desire to avoid meeting a Spaniard in a third Grand Slam final. “I guess I hope I don’t play a Spanish player if I ever reach another slam final.
They know what they’re doing in the slam finals. Let’s hope for another (player) other than a Spaniard,” Ruud said with a smile. Even though Ruud didn’t win his first Grand Slam title, he was proud of the run he put up at Flushing Meadows.
“I’m proud of the match and the two weeks. I gave it my all. I left it all out on the court. Played some phenomenal tennis throughout the two weeks, probably my best tennis ever on this surface”. Had Ruud defeated Alcaraz in the US Open, he would have been a Grand Slam champion and the new top-ranked player in the world. But even with the loss, Ruud rose to a career-high ranking of No. 2 in the world.
