‘Next-level s**t’: Casper Ruud hails Jannik Sinner’s ‘close to perfection’ tennis in stunning Rome win | Tennis News
Casper Ruud no answers. Sigh, the Norwegian could only muster 22 points in a 64-minute beatdown at the hands of Jannik Sinner in the Italian Open in Rome on Thursday.
Setting up for the quarter-final, fresh from his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Madrid recently, Ruud was poised to give the returning Sinner a challenge but was eventually reduced to a 6-0, 6-1 defeat.
Despite suffering a crushing blow and his serve thwarted six times in the contest, Ruud said “it does not feel so bad honestly.”
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“I think it was more fun than anything, even though I lost [0-6, 1-6]. You just look at the guy and say, ‘This is kind of next-level shit’ — excuse my language — but I don’t know what else to say. It was almost fun to witness at the same time,” Ruud said as he lavished praise on Sinner, marking a comeback after his three-month doping suspension.
When you win a game against the on-fire World No.1 🤣#IBI25 @CasperRuud98 pic.twitter.com/KVjSavd6
— Tennis TV (@TennV) May 15, 2025
Ruud hailed Sinner’s dominance on court as one of the best performances he’d ever witnessed.
“It’s as close to perfection as I have ever seen from an opponent. Maybe in the first four games, I made a couple of errors with my forehand that were off, but everything else that came off his racket, just like throughout the entire match, felt like it was coming at a thousand kilometers per hour. Every shot, every forehand, every backhand. Even if my shots were heavy, his seemed to be lit on fire. It was truly impressive,” remarked Ruud.
The result marked the first time the 23-year-old Sinner had reached the semi-finals at his home tournament.
“It was a great performance,” Sinner said. “Very happy about that. But things can change quickly, no? Every day is different. Tomorrow is a different opponent. We play again in the night. But still it’s a different matchup. I always try to prepare myself in the best possible way.”
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