Casper Ruud pays tribute to father Christian, aims to surpass his Australian Open record

Casper Ruud gave an adorable tribute to his father, Christian Ruud, after his opening-round win at the Australian Open 2025. The sixth-seeded Norwegian battled through a grueling five-setter to beat Jaume Munar 6-3, 1-6, 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 on a rain-marred day in Melbourne.

In the post-match on-court interview, Casper was reminded that much like him (in 2021), his father had also reached the fourth round of the Australian Open in 1997.

When asked if there was a bit of a rivalry going on between the father-son duo, Ruud said with a smile:

“Yes for sure. But I have a better record in most of the other tournaments. This is kind of the last one standing for him. I hope I can beat it one day. But I’m happy if he also has one record at least in the family. He’s inspired me a lot. Without him, it would be very difficult to be where I am today. I owe him a lot.”

Christian's fourth-round appearance 28 years ago included a straight-sets win over the Indian tennis legend Leander Paes in the second round and remains the Norwegian’s best-ever run at a Grand Slam. He was Norway’s highest-ranked player on the circuit before Casper went past him in 2020.

Who will Casper Ruud face in the Australian Open 2025 2R?

Having fought past a determined Munar, Casper Ruud will have a couple of days to recover before he’s back in action in the second round of the Australian Open. He will face the winner of the contest between Nikoloz Basilashvili and Jakub Mensik.

Casper had lost to Basilashvili during their only previous clash back in 2021, while he has not played against Mensik yet.

Casper came into this year’s first Major after a stirring run in 2024 that saw him capture his career’s first ATP 500 crown when he beat Stefanos Tsitsipas for the Barcelona Open title in April. This was a particularly big win for Casper since he had lost to Tsitsipas just two weeks earlier in the finals of the Monte Carlo Masters.

Casper Ruud, coached by his father Christian and Pedro Clar, also won the Geneva Open to become the first three-time champion in the tournament’s history and earned his 12th title on the Tour. He went on to reach the quarterfinals of the Paris Olympics and rounded off the year with a semifinal appearance at the ATP World Tour finals.

Having enjoyed one of his best years on the Tour, the 25-year-old will hope to take it up a notch this year and win his career’s first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open 2025.