"Even Rafael Nadal has to be on top of his game every match" - Casper Ruud reveals conversation with Spaniard's uncle Toni about depth of men's tennis

Casper Ruud defeated Laslo Djere in the fourth round of the Rome Masters to reach his second consecutive quarterfinal at the clay-court competition. In the post-match interview, the Norwegian opened up about a conversation he had with Rafael Nadal's former coach, Toni Nadal.

The Norwegian loves playing on clay, as he also reached the Roland Garros final last year, where he lost against Nadal. The reason behind his great hold on the red dirt is said to be the time he spent at the Rafael Nadal Academy.

Casper Ruud joined the tennis academy in Manacor, Spain, in September 2018, and it's revealed that during that time, he was mentored by the 'King of Clay' himself. Thus, one of the head coaches at the academy was the Spaniard's uncle, Toni Nadal.

The Norwegian stated that Toni Nadal helped him realize the depth of men's tennis. Casper Ruud also added that the 62-year-old used to be really confident about the Spaniard's win in his earlier days. However, he also taught him that even Rafael Nadal has to be at the top of his game to win.

Ruud said:

"He was sort of surprised in a way and told me, like, how the depth of men's tennis is really, really big these days. He said, you know, earlier in Rafa's career, it was like he knew he would win 6-2, 6-2 if he just did this and this."

He added:

"He would win 6-2, 6-2 because he was sort of too good for the opponents. But he said even for Rafa to play, he has to be on top of his game for every match; otherwise, he's going to have struggles."

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Casper Ruud will square off against Francisco Cerundolo in the quarterfinals

Casper Ruud defeated Arthur Rinderknech and Alexander Bublik to reach the fourth round of the Rome Masters. In the Round of 16 fixture of the Italian Open, he clashed with Serbia's Laslo Djere.

The Serb recorded a couple of decent wins over Botic van de Zandschulp and Cristian Garin in earlier fixtures, but he failed to present a decent challenge against the Norwegian tennis star. Thus, Casper Ruud progressed to the quarterfinals after a comfortable 6-1, 6-3 win over Djere.

On the other hand, all of Francisco Cerundolo's matches have gone into the third set. He ended Wu Yibing's and Gregoire Barrere's campaigns in the first and second rounds, respectively. Consequently, he also upset eighth-seeded Jannik Sinner 6-7 (3-7), 6-2, 6-2 to secure a berth in the last eight.

Thus, Casper Ruud is currently ranked 4, behind the top names of Daniil Medvedev, Carlos Alcaraz, and Novak Djokovic, although his career-best ranking is 2.

If we talk about Francisco Cerundolo, he's currently the Argentine No. 1. Hence, the brawl between the two young stars will be a joy to witness because both are quintessential baseliners, with clay being their favorite surface.