“Honestly, this has been worth the wait”. Casper Ruud recently clinched one of the biggest titles of his career in Barcelona Open. He not only avenged his Monte-Carlo Final defeat to Greek tennis star, Stefanos Tsitsipas but also snapped his 10-match winning streak on the clay court this season. Defeating Tsitsipas by 7-5,6-3 in just 90 minutes at Pista Rafa Nadal has now added the first ATP 500 title to Ruud’s trophy cabinet. Rafael Nadal‘s sister, Maribel Nadal was among the notables to congratulate Ruud on his historic feat.

In 2022, Maribel was spotted congratulating the former student of Rafa Nadal Academy when he reached the SF of the US Open. Yet again, Nadal’s sister shared a post from the official Instagram handle of Rafa Nadal Academy while congratulating Casper Ruud on his success in Barcelona. She shared a picture of Ruud holding the prestigious trophy and attached three “clapping” emojis to her post. Since it Casper Ruud’s first ATP Tour title of the season, he had some heartfelt words to share after this emphatic victory against a familiar opponent.

Casper Ruud has been in seven finals previously at the ATP 250 level. But he has failed to win a trophy on most of those occasions. “Honestly, this has been worth the wait. A lot of finals that I’ve lost have been tough, a bit disappointing, of course. Any time you reach a final, it’s nonetheless a good week. So you can’t be too hard on yourself, but this one has been a long time coming.” The Norwegian tennis star further went on to reflect on the role Rafael Nadal has played in his remarkable journey.

Since Ruud considers Rafael Nadal his idol, he said, “I’m super happy to do it here in Barcelona in front of a packed stadium and on Rafa Nadal Court. It’s special to me.” He further elaborated on how Rafa has been his idol all his childhood and the times when he came to watch 12x Barcelona Open at the age of 13. “Because I looked up to him all my childhood, came here myself as a 13-year-old boy to watch him and the others play here. It’s a great feeling.” 

The 25-year-old tennis star has in fact regularly trained at Rafa Nadal Academy since 2018. Last year, Nadal even penned down a heartfelt note to Ruud after his loss in the French Open finals to Novak Djokovic.

“Bravo” – Rafael Nadal heaps praise on Casper Ruud for his amazing run at the French Open last year

Rafael Nadal is widely regarded as one of the greatest clay-court players in the history of the racket sport. He has won a staggering 14 French Open titles in his career. Getting an appreciation from the Spanish tennis legend is always special. But getting appreciated by the one whom you’ve looked upon while growing up is even more special. Novak Djokovic defeated Casper Ruud by 7-6(1),6-3,7-5 in 3 hours and 13 minutes at the finals of the 2023 French Open. But Ruud’s performance throughout the tournament last year caught the eyes of ‘King of Clay‘.

Rafael Nadal shared a picture of Casper Ruud on his Instagram stories after the final match and wrote, “Bravo Casper. Another great Roland Garros. You are a great player and a great person! Tough loss but anyway amazing run!!!” Casper Ruud has got off to a great start at the clay court season, can he end up making yet another deep run at the French Open this year?

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