World number seven Casper Ruud analyzed his overwhelming loss to Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals of the Rome Masters, where Sinner triumphed 6-0, 6-1.
Question: Can you describe the match? Jannik`s performance seemed almost perfect.
Yes, yes, from what I witnessed, it was as close to perfect as you can get – at least from anyone I`ve ever played. You absolutely have to give him credit.
In the initial four games, perhaps I made a couple of unforced errors with my forehand trying to attack and missed the shot. But everything else coming back at me throughout the entire match felt like a hundred miles per hour or even more. Every single shot – from both his forehand and his backhand. Even on my own shots, which sometimes feel quite potent to me, he was responding as if they were cannonballs coming back. It`s incredibly impressive. There really isn`t much else to say.
Question: Do you feel you could have done anything to counter that level of play today?
Well, the biggest thing that let me down today was my serve. If I had served better, I would have obviously secured more easy points. In the baseline exchanges, maybe I managed to win one or two long rallies. Although, reflecting on it, I`m not even entirely certain I won even one. It seems like one or two might have happened.
In the majority of the points, he was superior to me, despite the fact that I felt I was attempting to construct the points the way that would benefit me. But he simply covered the court so well; he was everywhere.
It`s like that saying when someone is playing incredibly well, it feels like they have two forehands – one on the right side and one on the left. In his particular case, it felt almost like he had two backhands because his backhand is also unbelievably good. It honestly felt like playing against a solid wall that was relentlessly sending balls back at you at a hundred miles an hour,” Ruud commented in his post-match interview.
