Casper Ruud reveals Rafael Nadal's uncle Toni's admission about today's youngsters playing much faster than young Nadal and Djokovic

Two-time Grand Slam finalist Casper Ruud recently revealed what Rafael Nadal's uncle and former coach Toni told the Norwegian about the younger generation in comparison to Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

The 'Big-3' of men's tennis - Roger Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic - have dominated the sport for more than a decade. During their collective reign at the top, the trio won a combined 62 Grand Slam singles titles. With Nadal and Djokovic yet to retire, the numbers can only rise.

In the latest episode of Eurosport's 'Ruud Talk', former Spanish tennis professional Alex Corretja spoke about how the younger generation, like Carlos Alcaraz, plays tennis with so much pace. Following that, Ruud chimed in on the discussion and stated how the likes of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz play very fast and are also capable of hitting perfect shots from anywhere on the court.

"Yeah, I think so, I mean, they are playing at an incredible pace, you know, first of all they don't hold back pretty much any time there are a couple of slices here and there but from the forehead and the back and they have hit perfect shots."

"They can hit winners from anywhere, they can defend well, and they just even from defense, they just rip it back and forth," Ruud said.

The 2022 French Open finalist continued by narrating an incident during his time at Nadal's academy in Mallorca, where the Spaniard's uncle tested Casper Ruud's pace by asking him to hit as many balls as he could within 30 seconds.

"When I came to the academy in Mallorca and had my first practice with Tony, it was funny. I was playing with a junior player at the Academy just hitting from the baseline and he took up his phone and it started timing us to see in 30 seconds how many balls can I hit back and forth," Ruud said.

The World No. 5 further revealed that Toni Nadal was of the opinion that the younger generation today plays faster tennis than what Nadal and Djokovic did when they were younger.

"And he said that you and the younger generation, you play much faster than what you know Rafa and Novak did when they were playing matches when they were younger, Ruud recalled Toni's words.

The 24-year-old backed Toni's statement by saying that learning from the greats of the game has taught them that they have to be consistent in playing tennis at a good pace in order to stay at the top.

"It's pretty obvious that us learning from them and how they have developed the game and how great they have played and sort of raised the bar to think that you know this is the level that you have to be at if you want to be at the top," Casper Ruud added.

Casper Ruud will take on Quentin Halys at the Estoril Open SF

BNP Paribas Open - Day 7

World No. 5 Casper Ruud is currently plying his trade at the Estoril Open. The Norwegian will battle it out against France's Quentin Halys in the semifinals of the tournament.

The top seed has yet to drop a set since the first set of his Round of 16 match against Joao Sousa. Casper Ruud beat fifth seed Sebastian Baez in the quarterfinals to set up a clash with Halys and will take on either Marco Cecchinato or Miomir Kecmanovic in the summit clash if he wins on Saturday.