Casper Ruud extra motivated by No. 1 ranking, says father and coach Christian

The No. 1 ranking could be on the line for Casper Ruud as he plays Karen Khachanov in the semifinals of the US Open Friday. To do it, he'll have to reach the final and go further than Carlos Alcaraz, as the Spaniard is also in contention for the top spot after joining Ruud in the semifinal lineup.

The 23-year-old from Norway is coached by his father, former ATP player Christian Ruud, who says the opportunity to become world No. 1 provides extra motivation.

“We are just trying to take one match at a time. It's still far away, I think,” said Christian Ruud. “But of course it's nice that it's possible, and Casper has a little bit of motivation, because even when he was small, his ultimate goal was to be No. 1 in the world. Yeah, the chances are still there, so we are happy about that and we just have to play one match at a time.”

His rise also demonstrates Ruud's improved play on hard courts, which he was determined to improve following a lot of recent success on clay—including the final of Roland Garros.

'“So maybe it's not his favorite, hard courts, but he's been improving every match," Christian Ruud, describing his son's win against Matteo Berrettini two days ago as “one of the best matches I have seen him play.”

While growing up in Norway, Ruud not only played tennis but soccer, ice hockey and golf. But when he was 12 years old, he wanted to play more tennis and in a couple of years, Christian Ruud took on more of a coaching role.

The former No. 39 in 1995 said he saw “he has something special in a way, and from that point I was, more into it. I didn't feel like we were pushing him.

“He was already starting to look at Rafa [Nadal] and that was his idol, so he really was into the tennis world and he wanted to be on that center court one day.”

Ruud played Nadal in the final of the French Open, which has helped him play with less pressure in big events.

“We knew he had the level to play with the top guys and also beat the Top 10 players,” said Christian Ruud. "So of course a little bit disappointing Grand Slam [record in 2021], that was the big goal this year to at least reach some quarterfinals.

“It was a disappointment in Australia when he was injured two days before the start of the tournament. Of course he came in French Open with some nerves because he really wanted to do well there and had a difficult opponent in the first round.

“Then the goal was achieved a little bit, and then this US Open, he plays maybe with little bit calmer shoulders because he already had one good Grand Slam result. In a way, he got that breakthrough in the Grand Slams, and hopefully, we can continue. He's fit, he's doing well, so he suits playing five-set matches.”

Ruud entered the US Open ranked No. 7, but is guaranteed to crack the Top 3 no matter Friday's outcome. If both Ruud and Alcaraz fall, Rafael Nadal will overtake current No. 1 Daniil Medvedev on Monday.