There is nothing to be done, it seems that there is no happy ending for the alleged love story between Casper Ruud and grass-courts. In fact, we can safely say that it is a love that never blossomed! If Ihad to give a grade to the Norwegian's Wimbledon, I would say 2, as 2nd round, as in the 2022 and 2023 edition. This year his run at the Championships was cut short by Fabio Fognini. A second round dominated by the Italian. At the end of the match Ruud confirmed that the final result did not surprise him at all.
"Honestly, I'm not too disappointed about losing because I know my chances on this surface, I'm realistic. I'm trying to improve, but it's difficult for me to move and feel confident when I'm moving. I'll try to do better in other years," he said.
Fabio Fognini, on the other hand, had a completely different spirit, and he spoke of his satisfaction after beating such a strong opponent.
"I was really in control of this match, I was winning 5-2, but he played three or four crazy shots and the match reopened.
They went to serve at 5-4, but nothing: it's part of the sport. There I asked myself why I lost, I tried to stay focused, I lost the tie-break but I told myself that I was still in control: today I did a great job. I'm happy, I'm still having fun. I love the competition, I always like to play. The fourteenth time is the luckiest," he said.
This year, as in previous years, Casper has decided to skip any preparatory tournament for the Championships, playing directly at the All England Club: evidently the number 8 in the ATP world ranking cares relatively little about this surface and this tournament, as he has already amply demonstrated in the past.
