Casper Ruud hails Iga Swiatek's grit, determination after US Open mixed doubles wins

NEW YORK—Casper Ruud felt mixed emotions watching US Open mixed doubles partner Iga Swiatek compete for an 11th WTA 1000 title at the Cincinnati Open.

With the Cincinnati final on Monday and the US Open’s revamped mixed doubles event kicking off less than 24 hours later, the former world No. 2 was starting to think he’d be on Arthur Ashe Stadium without a partner come Tuesday.

“I can't lie,” Ruud smiled after he and Swiatek eased into the semifinals. “I was a little concerned! We both prepared each other if we were to do well in Cincinnati, that something might happen. We said that early when we planned.

“I shouldn't have said that,” Swiatek joked. “I'm sorry.”

Swiatek was surprised to hear Ruud kept in touch with her team while watching her beat Jasmine Paolini and return No. 2 in the singles rankings just in time for the US Open.

“I think it's her will in the end and she decided to show up here, which is wildly impressive because she got to bed 12 hours ago in her hotel in New York, and she is here,” Ruud continued. “She was here stretching, doing her warm-up at 10 a.m.

“Yeah, just really, really proud of two days, both wins. Iga will have a good night's sleep tonight. She deserves that. We'll be ready for tomorrow.”

Playing in the Fast Four scoring format, Ruud and Swiatek made quick work of their Tuesday double-header. After knocking out all-American pair Madison Keys and Frances Tiafoe, 4-1, 4-2, they beat Caty McNally and Lorenzo Musetti by the same score, booking themselves a spot in Wednesday night’s mixed doubles championship evening.

I think it's her will in the end and she decided to show up here, which is wildly impressive because she got to bed 12 hours ago in her hotel in New York, and she is here,” Ruud continued. “She was here stretching, doing her warm-up at 10AM. Casper Ruud on Iga Swiatek

Swiatek, who won all of her Cincinnati matches in straight sets, felt only minor fatigue despite the quick turnaround and shrugged off the ostensibly daunting challenge of returning serves from Tiafoe and Musetti.

“The thing is that I practice with men all the time,” said Swiatek, who will be the No. 2 seed in women’s singles after dropping to No. 8 back in June. “Maybe they're not serving as good as, like, the top of ATP. But I think, yeah, you can just play without any expectations and just swing.

“Obviously being a bit back, it's smarter because guys serve too fast for us to be so close to the baseline. I love playing with topspin. When they also use more spin than the girls, I think I just enjoy the opportunity and I just go for it.”

Though they’d never taken the court together—and neither can recall who first pitched their mixed collaboration—Swiatek and Ruud are a logical match in a field of all-star teams: both prefer clay and striking heavy topspin forehands, and both grew up idolizing Rafael Nadal.

“I always loved his forehand,” Swiatek said of Ruud. “I think if I would be a guy, I would play kind of the same way as he does. So yeah, for me it makes sense.”

Ruud also publicly reached out to Swiatek after the former world No. 1 suffered an emotional loss at the Mutua Madrid Open, a tournament the Norwegian went to capture his first Masters 1000 victory.

“Just the grit and determination,” Ruud said when asked what he admired about Swiatek. “She's a very kind human, as I see her from the outside, I get to know her a little bit more. She wants the best for everyone around her.

“I really like when she does her swings on the court and gets ready for a point,” he added with a smile. “It's not something the men always do too much. I really think it's a cool thing. It's her thing, way of getting ready for a new point. I've done it in the past in training. I don't do it so much in matches. It just shows how focused and determined she is.”

Swiatek and Ruud will face one of three teams in the semis on Wednesday: top seeds Jessica Pegula and Jack Draper, Olga Danilovic and Novak Djokovic, or Mirra Andreeva and Daniil Medvedev.