“Novak Djokovic said it well, please don’t retire yet” – Casper Ruud urges Rafael Nadal to rethink retirement with Davis Cup Finals last dance looming

While Ruud hasn’t found his best form in recent weeks, he largely dominated an out-of-sorts Alcaraz in their opening-round clash. The Norwegian was the first to break after several wayward shots from the Spaniard, who racked up 18 unforced errors in the game.

While Alcaraz had his moments, he went on to lose in straight sets to the World No. 6, who won his 50th match of the season 6-1,7-5. Ruud will face Alexander Zverve and Andrey Rubley in his remaining two group stages matches.

In the post-match interview following his win over Alcaraz, the 25-year-old weighed in on Nadal’s retirement and urged him to rethink his decision.

“I kind of think Novak said it well during the Saudi tournament. Please don’t retire yet because you have so many fans around the world,” he said.

Ruud added that Nadal’s following wasn’t just limited to fans. He pointed out that several high-profile players, such as Iga Swiatek and Novak Djokovic attended his opening-round match at the 2024 Roland Garros.

“Even among the players, it’s kind of… One match that showed it quite clearly to me was during the Roland Garros this year, there were a lot of players that came out to watch Rafa-Zverev. Typically you don’t have Swiatek, Novak, Carlos, everyone coming out to watch the first round of a slam. But when it’s Rafa, it’s different,” he added.

However, the Norwegian admitted that it was inevitable and hoped Nadal would get a deserving farewell finish at the Davis Cup Finals.

“Luckily for me he did some unforced errors” – Casper Ruud explains how he managed to topple Carlos Alcaraz in the opening round

There’s no denying that Carlos Alcaraz was the favorite heading into the opening match against Casper Ruud, who has only managed three wins in his last 12 games. However, the Norwegian was accurate in his shots and impeccable in his serves, and with a little bit of luck, he managed to stun the Spaniard with a straight-set defeat.

“With Carlos, it’s like so difficult to play him because you know that he has the potential to hit any shot. Luckily for me today, a little bit more often than not, he also did some unforced errors. Particularly in the last game I remember when I was serving for it, I won the first point with an ace, next point he hits a beautiful backhand winner, next point is a backhand unforced error, next point I think is a volley winner. So it’s on and off,” Casper Ruud said

Ruud also added that he tried to play an aggressive game, which is against his nature, and while he was hesitant to do it, he tried and succeeded.