"Revenge for what happened in Miami" - Casper Ruud on dismissing Botic van de Zandschulp at Monte-Carlo Masters

Casper Ruud scored his first win at the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters on Wednesday, April 12. In what was a rematch of this year’s Miami Open, the former World No. 2 faced Netherlands’ Botic van de Zandschulp yet again in the Round of 32 of the tournament.

Ruud, who was the defending finalist at the Masters 1000 event in Miami, faced a shock defeat at the hands of van de Zandschulp who staged a commendable comeback to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. At the on-going Monte-Carlo Masters, however, the Norwegian avenged the loss with a straight-sets victory over the Dutch opponent 7-5, 7-6 (1).

Speaking about the noteworthy match-up, Casper Ruud stated that he was more eager than worried to face Botic van de Zandschulp just weeks after the loss.

“I recently lost to him in Miami, and most of the time, if you lose to someone, you’re like, ‘Oh! Do I have to play this guy again?’ Today it was more like, I was happy that I got to play him again,” Casper Ruud said in a conversation with the Tennis Channel after the win.

With as many as 600 ranking points at stake during his run in Miami, the two-time Grand Slam runner-up was expectedly disappointed by the defeat. After the Monte-Carlo Masters win, he made an honest admission about it being his sweet revenge.

“I wanted sort of a revenge for what happened in Miami, because I had so many chances there in that match,” he said.

Ruud mentioned that his collapse in the previous encounter despite a lead in the decider fueled him to face the Dutchman again.

“I was up a break and break point for double break in the third set and I just fumbled and stumbled and messed it all up towards the end,” Ruud recalled, adding, “So I was like, ‘Ok. I feel like I have some unfinished business that I would like to get on with today,'"

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"Casper is back again and feels comfortable" - Casper Ruud fires warning to colleagues at Monte-Carlo Masters after Estoril Open win

Casper Ruud at the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters

Casper Ruud had an uninspiring start to his 2023 season. The 24-year-old registered a mere five wins against six losses before the commencement of the clay season. However, the 2022 French Open runner-up was quick to make a dominant return with his first clay tournament of the season in Cascais, Portugal.

Ruud managed to win back-to-back matches at a tournament for the first time this year at the Estoril Open and went all the way to lifting his tenth career title, a staggering ninth on clay.

Ruud noted that the triumph was a significant one and declared it a warning to his competitors as well as tennis fans, marking his revival.

“It had been eight months since playing on clay for me. So, that was obviously important to start well. Got some confidence coming into this tournament [the Monte-Carlo Masters], sort of show people and my opponents - It’s on clay. Maybe Casper is back again and feels comfortable. And more comfortable than I felt on the hard court in the last months,” he said in the same conversation.

On Thursday, April 13, Casper Ruud will face off against Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff for a spot in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters.