"He saw the news about his father Rafael and forgot how to play" - Tennis fans react to Casper Ruud's Barcelona Open exit

Casper Ruud made a strong start to the 2023 Barcelona Open, defeating American sensation Ben Shelton in the third round. However, his run was unexpectedly cut short in the third round by Francisco Cerundolo.

Cerundolo defeated Ruud 7-6(5), 6-3, improving to 4-6 lifetime against top 10 opponents. The win allowed the 15th-seeded Argentine to reach his fourth quarter-final of 2023 and his first overall in the ATP 500 category.

Tennis fans quickly took to Twitter to express their reaction to Ruud's surprising loss. One user joked that the Norwegian learned of Rafael Nadal's withdrawal from the Madrid Open due to injury and became so sad that he forgot how to play.

"Casper saw the news about his father rafael and is so sad about it that he’s forgot how to play," the user wrote.

Another user was unsurprised by Casper Ruud's loss as they believed he rarely faced top-10 opponents during his good run last year. They further claimed that Ruud relied on good draws to climb up the ladder, and that his current ranking does not accurately reflect his position in the field.

"He rarely played top10 opposition is his good runs last year. Capitalized on good draws, current rank does not reflect his true place in the field," the tweet read.

Here are a few more reactions from tennis fans to Casper Ruud's Barcelona Open early exit:

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Casper Ruud thinks the claycourt legacies of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are not talked about because of Rafael Nadal's dominance

Casper Ruud pictured at the 2023 BNP Paribas Open - Day 3.

Casper Ruud stated in the latest episode of Eurosport's 'Ruud Talk' that Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are the best claycourt players after Rafael Nadal. He feels, however, that Djokovic and Federer's claycourt achievements do not get enough attention due to the Spaniard's ground-breaking records on clay.

"Novak and Roger, they are probably the second-best ever claycourt players. It's just that it's never really talked about because Rafa has all these records, so it's tough," Ruud said.

The Norwegian then stated that while a player may have a chance against Nadal on grass, that is not the case on clay. He feels there are very few people in the world who can match the Mallorcan's game on the red dirt.

"You feel like maybe if you play Rafa on grass or whatever, Rafa has obviously won Wimbledon twice, so he is really good on grass, but you feel like, you can at least go out there and smack some winners and make him uncomfortable," he said.

"On clay, you can't really do that because he has the time to set up his shots, he has the time to play good defence. If he's on it and he's playing well, there is really not much you can do, unless you are able to match his game, which very few people in the world can do on clay," he added.