SEPT 20 - 22, 2024 | BERLIN
Casper Ruud is representing Team Europe for the fourth time, and the top-ranked Norwegian is eager for a Laver Cup victory after two years of being denied. The 25-year-old will aim to extend his pristine 3-0 win-loss career record at the event, which will take place this year in Berlin’s Uber Arena.
How it’s going
The world No. 9 has won two titles so far in 2024, triumphing in April at the Barcelona Open with a straight-sets win over teammate Stefanos Tsitsipas and a month later, at the Geneva Open. Ruud also reached the finals of tournaments in Los Cabos, Acapulco and the ATP Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo, where he upset Novak Djokovic, the top seed, in the semifinals. At Roland Garros, where Ruud had reached the final twice before, he fell in the semifinals against Alex Zverev. In the final Grand Slam tournament of the year, Ruud – a 2022 finalist at Flushing Meadows – reached the fourth round in New York where he lost to Team World’s Taylor Fritz in four sets.
The motivation to play the Laver Cup
Committing to Laver Cup was “an easy choice,” Ruud said. “Ever since it started, the event, I was watching it on TV and I just thought, ‘I want to be there one day’,” he said. “I’ve had the chance to play three times now and the last two years we lost, so I think Europe is eager to get their revenge.”
“It’s a cool event for the rest of the world to challenge the European players and the last two years, they didn’t just challenge Europe, they won and they beat us, so it’s time for Europe to step up,” Ruud said. “It would be really fun to win at home in Berlin.”
The key to winning the Laver Cup
Ruud, who defeated Tommy Paul in Vancouver 2023, Jack Sock in London 2022 and Reilly Opelka in Boston 2021, is well aware that the performance of the team, rather than the individual, dictates the path to victory.
“In 2021 [we had] a super strong team,” he said, recounting the last time that Team Europe had Laver Cup success. “Daniil [Medvedev] had just won the US Open, Sascha [Zverev] had won the Olympic gold. We had Rublev, Berrettini, Stef [Tsitsipas] and myself, everyone on the team was a top 10 player… I think this year, it’s also really, really strong.”
“Alcaraz is going to play for the first year, which is going to be really exciting,” said Ruud, who holds a 0-4 record against his rival-turned-teammate.
“And Zverev, he’s played a few times, he’s won the [Laver breaker] a few times, so he has the experience,” he said of the German. “Daniil wants to play, and myself and Stef are also eager to bring what we can to the table and to Team Europe.”
Unlike any other tennis tournament, Ruud says Laver Cup gets his heart racing because the outcome isn’t on his racquet when his teammates are competing.
“Here, watching when it’s tight, when it’s match tiebreak, you get a high pulse, you start like sweating in your hands … it’s really fun.”
“As a spectator, you have no control of what’s going on,” said the Norwegian.
Ruud said the three days of Laver Cup competition provide one of the more unique experiences during the calendar year.
“It’s exciting because as a player, you don’t watch that much tennis live in a big stadium or a big arena because you’re only always focusing on yourself, [thinking] what do I have to do to be prepared the best for my next match and typically that doesn’t involve going to a match.”
“Here, you get to watch at least like nine or 10 great matches over the span of three days, and you hopefully get to play yourself, do well for the team.”
Role on Team Europe
The talented right-hander arrives armed with the experience of securing points on the eye-catching black court, and he’s well equipped to handle the pressure.
“You feel confident when the team is winning, but, I have been on both ends of it, winning and losing – and losing is no fun,” recalled the 25-year-old. “It’s nerve-wracking. I always have a great time around Bjorn, our Captain, obviously he’s Swedish [and] I’m Norwegian, so communication goes easy between us,” said Ruud, describing Bjorn Borg, the 11-time major champion, as both a “legend of the game” and “easy-going.”
“It’s also Bjorn’s last year so I hope we can finish and get a win for him before he retires from the Captain’s role,” added Ruud, who said he is motivated by Borg’s presence on the bench.
“He’s 4-2 in the first six Laver Cup editions so whatever happens this year he’ll still walk off and walk away with a positive result, but I think 5-2 for him would taste better than 4-3.”
