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Casper Ruud's coach Pedro Clar has weighed in with his opinion on whether tennis has been "unfair" to the Norwegian.
Ruud, a former ATP World No. 2, has reached the finals of three Grand Slams so far in his career. However, across all three of those finals, the Norwegian ended up on the losing side.
At the 2022 French Open, Ruud set up a final clash against his boyhood idol Rafael Nadal. Overwhelmed by the occasion, the Norwegian put in a tame display as Nadal ran away with his record-extending 14th title at Roland Garros.
Ruud's next Major final came at the US Open the same year, where he met Carlos Alcaraz in the final. This time around, the Norwegian was more resilient, but ultimately, he fell short yet again as Alcaraz won his maiden Grand Slam title.
At last year's French Open, Ruud faced Novak Djokovic, with the Serb seeking to surpass his and Nadal's joint record of 22 Grand Slam titles. Once more, the Norwegian paled in comparison to Djokovic and lost 6-7(1), 3-6, 5-7.
Recently, Pedro Clar, who has been a pivotal member in the Norwegian's coaching setup since 2019, talked about Ruud's Grand Slam final losses in an interview with Puntodebreak. According to Clar, Ruud's losses on three of tennis' most prestigious stages came against two of the all-time greats in Nadal and Djokovic, and Alcaraz, who is widely regarded as a future great.
"In the end there have been Grand Slam finals with Rafa, with Djokovic and with Alcaraz, the latter being the closest to winning, so it hasn't been easy either," Clar told Puntodebreak.
The Spanish coach went on to say that despite public perception, there has been no "injustice" done to Ruud.
"I don't see it as an injustice. If one wins it is because he deserves it, just as if you lose it will be because you have not done the things you had to do, or the other was better. I don't think that tennis has been unfair to Casper, if he now has to win then much better, we will see if the dynamics in grand finals change from then on," Ruud added.
"I played very tough players" - Casper Ruud after losing 2023 French Open final
Following his loss to Djokovic in the final of the 2023 French Open, Ruud reflected on his Grand Slam final losses during a press conference. The Norwegian admitted that he faced some of the most difficult opponents in the finals that he lost.
"Obviously, anyone you play in a Grand Slam final is going to be a good player. But the three players I've played is just Rafa going for, at the time, the record for 22, and then Carlos who was just on fire in New York, and then here, Novak, going for 23. I played very tough players," Ruud said at the time at the post-match press conference.
The Norwegian has had something of a resurgence in 2024 and recently won the Barcelona Open title after defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final. It marked Ruud's first ATP 500-level title.
