David Ferrer defends Casper Ruud against claim that he is the "bad version" of the Spaniard after French Open 2023 loss

David Ferrer has jumped to Casper Ruud’s defense after a comparison was made between the two, following the latter’s latest loss in the French Open 2023 final.

Novak Djokovic handed Casper Ruud a straight-sets defeat, 7-6(1), 6-3, 7-5, in the final of the 2023 French Open. This was the young Norwegian’s third time finishing as a Grand Slam runner-up. Ruud featured in the finals in Paris last year as well, and also made it to the summit clash of the 2022 US Open. He fell short against Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz, respectively, in those encounters.

Having failed to clinch a maiden Grand Slam title in all his three final attempts so far, tennis fans compared the former World No. 2 to former World No. 3 David Ferrer, who is widely considered “one of the best players to have never won a Grand Slam.”

One fan stated that Ruud is the “bad version” of the former Spanish professional.

“Casper Ruud seems to me the bad version of @DavidFerrer87 .#Roland Garros,” the fan opined.

David Ferrer, however, was not pleased with the assessment and defended the 24-year-old. He corrected the fan by calling Ruud the “good version.”

“Thanks but it's not, it's the good version. Hug!” he said.

Juan Martin del Potro, meanwhile, defended Ferrer against his own comments and called the Spaniard “incomparable.”

“Ferru is unique and incomparable,” he said.

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How Casper Ruud's Grand Slam career has fared so far compared with David Ferrer's

Casper Ruud has featured in three of the last five Grand Slam finals

Similar to Casper Ruud’s first Slam final, David Ferrer was denied a Major title by “King of Clay” Rafael Nadal in straight sets at the 2013 French Open. However, the summit clash 10 years ago remains Ferrer’s first and only Grand Slam final appearance.

Apart from that, David Ferrer’s best results at the Majors have come in the semifinals of the Australian Open (2011, 2013) and US Open (2007, 2012). Ferrer ended his career with 27 titles, including one Masters 1000 in Paris.

Casper Ruud has collected 10 career titles so far and has featured in three of the last five Grand Slam finals. The Norwegian’s case of consecutive Major final defeats isn’t unique. In the recent past, Andy Murray and Dominic Thiem suffered a similar fate but eventually claimed their maiden Slam trophy.

Murray was unable to capitalize in his first four attempts. The Brit, however, managed to lift three Grand Slam titles (one at the US Open and two at Wimbledon) in his next seven attempts. Meanwhile, Dominic Thiem was denied the big titles in his first three final appearances (two at the French Open and one at the Australian Open). He eventually became the champion at the 2020 US Open.

After his latest defeat, Ruud vowed that he will be aiming for a Grand Slam title in the future, as winning one is his “biggest goal and dream.”

“One day I'm gonna try to obviously aim for a Slam title. That's my biggest goal, my biggest dream in my career and in my life. It's been close, but close but no cigar, so I'm going to keep working and try to get it one day,” Casper Ruud said in his post-match press conference.